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Despite Xia Qianqian’s best efforts, she only managed to recruit one helper before Lu Ye. The group was lacking one more.
She had tried messaging Kitty Shen about this but learned that she wasn’t anywhere close to the Arcane Glade. Moreover, she did not qualify for the battle as she had already ascended to the Sixth-Order.
Desperate, she messaged Zhou Hai and asked him if he knew anyone who might be able to help her. Of course he didn’t. He was a sword cultivator who roamed the Cloud River Battlefield alone. Forget companions, he rarely contacted his own sect members.
It was at this moment he recalled Lu Ye and told Xia Qianqian about the encounter.The rest was history.
“You sure think highly of my abilities. I’m certain your enemies would only be recruiting Fifth-Order cultivators for the battle. What could I, a mere Third-Order cultivator, possibly do against such foes?”
Lu Ye’s first instinct was to stay out of trouble because he still needed to locate Ju Jia. The road- blind body-tempering cultivator was probably sleeping in the ass end of nowhere right now. He was worried for his well being like a mother hen over its chick…
“Seriously? We’ve literally fought side by side, bud. You might be able to fool someone else, but not me.”
Xia Qianqian had been with Lu Ye every step of the way during their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain. From the start until the end, Lu Ye had performed extraordinarily not just in combat, but in other areas as well. She would even go so far as to say that she had never met a greater Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator than Lu Ye. If she was at the same cultivation level as him, he could probably kill her in three hits at most.
Now that she thought about it, Lan Ziyi was quite extraordinary as well. However, even she was a tad weaker than Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was still a Second-Order cultivator when they were adventuring in the Myriad Beasts Domain. Now that he was in the Third-Order, she had no doubt he could handle most Fifth-Order cultivators without issues.
She would even say that the Arcane Glade was as good as her sect mates’ as long as she could rope Lu Ye into the matter.
“You misunderstand my strength.”
“I don’t think so, oh mighty Vanquisher of Sects and Bane of Spirit Creek.”
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, but he wasn’t surprised that she found out his real identity. The woman was fairly close with Pang Dahai. She had probably found out the truth from him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Regardless, there was no way Lu Ye would admit that he was who she claimed he was. He had purchased the masks precisely because he didn’t want to be recognized. He was just starting to enjoy his anonymity, and he had no intention of returning to the days where he was hunted like a rat anytime soon.
“I can owe you a favor.”
“You already owe me a favor, remember?”
The decision to sell the Beast Pact Art to the Vault of Providence had benefited his companions far more than it benefited him. Knowing this, Xia Qianqian declared that Lu Ye was now a close friend of hers, and that he could seek her out if he needed her for anything.
Instead, she was the one who sought him out for another favor just days after they parted ways.
“I can compensate you for your trouble!”
“I’m not lacking in cultivation resources.”
Xia Qianqian wordlessly pulled out a wooden box from her Storage Bag. The object was palm-sized and glowed like a rainbow. She tossed it up and down while asking, “Do you know what this is?”
Lu Ye had no idea. He was about to tell Xia Qianqian that when she revealed the answer on her own, “This is an Amulet Casket; a lucky draw for Amulets! The person who draws it will obtain exactly one Amulet. Depending on your luck, it could be a shitty White Amulet, or a valuable Gold Amulet!”
For the first time, Lu Ye’s interest was well and truly piqued. He also realized that the woman had come prepared.
Lu Ye was wealthy enough that he couldn’t be tempted by most treasures, and he wasn’t someone who succumbed easily to social pressure, not to mention that this favor might draw some unwanted heat to him. Unfortunately, it would seem that Xia Qianqian knew exactly what he desired.
“I think this item suits you perfectly. What do you think?” Xia Qianqian grinned ear to ear when she noticed Lu Ye’s expression.
“You are sure this is a lucky draw?”
Xia Qianqian nodded. “No one knows what is inside the box until they open it.”
“Where did you get this?”
“There’s a Hidden Realm that opens once a month nearby. I got this a couple days ago.”
Lu Ye nodded and took the Amulet Casket from Xia Qianqian. It so happened that he was quite confident in his luck these days.
“Does this mean we agree then?”
“If this Amulet Casket gives me a Blue Amulet or better, then yes!”
A Blue Amulet was worth over one thousand and eight hundred Contribution Points. Not only that, Amulets in general weren’t purchasable via Contribution Points. If he could get a Blue Amulet or better, then this detour would be worth it.
“How do I use this?” Lu Ye asked.
After listening to Xia Qianqian’s instructions, Lu Ye tapped a spot on the Amulet Casket. The box began opening outward like a blooming flower at the same time its rainbow glow began spinning and flowing into the box.
When the box was fully opened, a purple light shone from the depths of the box. It was none other than a Purple Amulet.
Xia Qianqian’s eyes immediately widened like saucers. She already knew that Lu Ye was ridiculously lucky, but she still hadn’t expected him to open a Purple Amulet from the Amulet Casket.
She had opened at least eighty Amulet Caskets since entering the Cloud River Battlefield, if not a hundred. To date, she had only opened two Purple Amulets from them. Most of them were white, some of them were green, and only a handful of them were Blue.
This was the first time Lu Ye opened an Amulet Casket, but he had obtained a Purple Amulet from it. To call him lucky would be an understatement!
Xia Qianqian immediately slapped another Amulet Casket on his hand. “Open this for me!”
She would be crazy not to borrow his luck. Although her luck had visibly improved since selling the Beast Pact Art, it was nothing compared to Lu Ye’s.
She only had two Amulet Caskets in total. This was her last Amulet Casket since she had given the other one to Lu Ye.
Just like before, Lu Ye tapped a spot on the Amulet Casket and waited for the Amulet Casket to open on its own. When the rainbow glow had fully converged within the box, it revealed…
… A White Amulet!
Xia Qianqian was speechless for a second. Then, she wailed, “NOT FAIR!”
Lu Ye’s first attempt had yielded a Purple Amulet, so how was it possible for the second to be a White Amulet? She could’ve accepted this outcome if it was at least a Green Amulet, but white? The disparity was almost too much to bear!
If she knew this would happen, she would’ve opened the Amulet Casket herself. With her current luck, the chances she might draw a White Amulet was very low. It would be a Green Amulet at the very least.
“Do you have more?” Lu Ye asked a little wistfully. The anticipation before the inevitable reveal was quite addictive to say the least.
“I do not!” Xia Qianqian huffed while snatching the White Amulet from his hand. She then stared at Lu Ye’s Purple Amulet like a kicked puppy.
Lu Ye stored the Purple Amulet safely. At the same time, he swore to obtain more Amulet Caskets should the opportunity present itself in the future.
“Let’s go,” Lu Ye urged.
He had received his payment, so it was time to perform the service he was requested to perform. As for Ju Jia, well, the body-tempering cultivator had already waited for their reunion for months. He was sure he could afford to wait a day or two more.
A short while later, Xia Qianqian and Lu Ye leaped into the air and flew away from the Divine Trade Association.
Xia Qianqian was still looking incredibly upset. There were few things more hurtful than comparison, and the fact that she got a White Amulet while Lu Ye got a Purple Amulet hurt her so bad she almost couldn’t breathe.
“Say, Ye Six, I have an offer to—” The Ninth-Order cultivator said suddenly.
“No deal!”
“I haven’t even said anything yet!”
“No deal!” There was no way in hell he was going to surrender the Purple Amulet no matter what.
“Sigh.”
Once again, Xia Qianqian felt like strangling her past self. She should’ve believed in herself, dammit!
On the way, Lu Ye suddenly pulled out a mask from his storage space and put it on. He also put away the Inviolable.
When Xia Qianqian turned to see what he was doing, she was greeted by the face of a white fox with pointed lips, slanted eyes and thick eye shadows. She could not help but roll her eyes at Lu Ye. When she recalled everything she heard about the combat cultivator from Pang Dahai though, she realized that his precaution was more than necessary.
Generally speaking, most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators and even the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy themselves would return to anonymity after ascending to the Cloud River Battlefield. After all, a Scroll of Supremacy champion would ascend to the Cloud River Realm every few months or so. It would be an exaggeration to say that the Cloud River Battlefield was crawling with champions, but that was still a lot of people over the years.
However, not all champions of the Scroll of Supremacy were made equal, and Lu Ye was exceptional even among the best of the best. He would not have earned the nickname “The Vanquisher of Sects” and the “Bane of Spirit Creek” otherwise. There was no way the Thousand Demon Ridge wasn’t keeping an eye out for him. If his identity was exposed, his predicament in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was probably going to repeat itself.
As for Lu Ye hiding his main weapon, Xia Qianqian knew exactly what the man was plotting. She had no qualms with it though. His deception would only improve her sect mates’ chances.
Suddenly, a cultivator flew up to them from below. Xia Qianqian assuaged Lu Ye before he could react, “He’s one of us.”
The cultivator met up with them soon enough. Judging from his tall stature and muscular body, he was clearly a body-tempering cultivator, a Fifth-Order body-tempering cultivator to be exact. Lu Ye reckoned that he was the other helper Xia Qianqian had recruited before him.
The body-tempering cultivator saluted Xia Qianqian respectfully. “Senior Sister Xia,” and the woman returned the gesture with a slight nod.
The body-tempering cultivator glanced at Lu Ye next but didn’t salute him or even offer him a greeting. It was because he was wearing a fox mask in broad daylight like a criminal who had something to hide. Moreover, his aura revealed him to be a Third-Order cultivator. Naturally, he wasn’t deserving of his attention.
As the trio resumed their journey, Xia Qianqian sent a message to her sect mates. Four hours later, the trio landed on a Spirit Peak and was welcomed by three cultivators.
They were two men and a woman. They had to be the sect mates Xia Qianqian had mentioned. Judging from their aura and attire, they were a combat cultivator, a ghost cultivator, and a spell cultivator.
“Senior sister!” The trio saluted.
It was clear from their disheveled appearance and various injuries that they had experienced a battle some time ago. However, they were also cultivators. As long as their injuries weren’t too severe, they should be able to fight at almost max capacity.
Lu Ye was unable to identify their cultivation level, but they could not be stronger than the Fifth-Order.
Not including Xia Qianqian, they were exactly a group of five.
Once again, they went on their merry way. An hour later, they landed in a valley where six people were waiting for them.
The leader of the opposing group was a young man with a dignified appearance. He complained immediately after seeing Xia Qianqian, “You’re a little late, Fellow Cultivator Xia.”
“Like hell I am. There’s still some time before the deadline!” Xia Qianqian retorted immediately. Judging from the terse air between them, they weren’t just acquaintances who were standing up for their group. They were enemies as well.
After checking her surroundings and confirming that the opposing group hadn’t prepared an ambush or trap for them, she asked, “So? What’s the format? Is it going to be last-man-standing or battle royale?”
The ghost of a smirk tugged at the young man’s lips. “You seem very confident, Fellow Cultivator Xia.”
“We’ll know after the battle is over. Now cut the bullcrap and give us the details already.”
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