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The Judgment of Heavens was a divine mechanism ordained as an inescapable retribution. Thus, Lu Ye needed to unravel the mystery of how Sister Shui Yuan could resist its devastating power. Once he resolved this enigma, he could then roam the Spirit Creek Battlefield and do as he liked.
Shui Yuan’s head swayed sideways wistfully, “No. I could do nothing; I was only enduring the pain.”
Pausing, she continued, her gaze distant, “My circumstances are unique, as you might have already realized.” Raising a trembling hand to her chest, she continued, “Since my very birth, I have had another persona dwelling within me—that is Mo Yuan whom you met back then. Most of the time, you won’t be seeing her. She rarely surfaces, for she appears only when I’m not myself, or I am unconscious.”
Lu Ye nodded in understanding.
Lu Ye was oblivious to this when he first arrived at the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold. He had not thought much about why Shui Yuan and Mo Yuan would look so starkly alike. If he were to compare them both, he would only think Shui Yuan as a reduced facsimile of the other.
Back then, he had mistaken them both as sisters.
But over these years, he had been gradually piecing together bits and pieces until he had a better picture.
Therefore, hearing Shui Yuan telling him the truth did little to surprise him.
“She possesses an extraordinary constitution that grants her a very high endurance. That is why though the Judgment of the Heavens is inflicted upon her after killing a few enemies, it scarcely bothered her. Still, her endurance is not without its limits; there’s a threshold that even she cannot cross lest she endangers herself,” said Shui Yuan before her narrative flowed on, “Twice she came back from the Spirit Creek Battlefield with the Judgment of the Heavens coiling around her, and each time, she would retreat into a deep slumber to wait out the Judgment until it fades. And since the Judgment affects only her, it has no effect on me.”
There were two instances where Wei Yang killed enemy Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators—once during the Battle of Goldentip and the second time when Lu Ye was poisoned by the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
“The more enemies one kills in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the more powerful the Judgment of the Heavens will be. Correspondingly, its duration will also extend. So if you are certain of reentering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye, be careful not to kill too many enemies. While I’ve yet to sample the horrors of the awe-inspiring Judgment of the Heavens, I assure you, it’s not a force to be recklessly courted. A single misstep might well cost you the essence of your soul. And if so, woe betide you, brother. So beware.”
“But surely there are ways to counter the Judgment?” countered Lu Ye, still not willing to give up.
“Such is the retribution of the Heavens, brother,” Shui Yuan responded with finality.
“I see,” Lu Ye acknowledged.
Shui Yuan observed the shadows that flickered within his gaze. She could detect the reluctance and defiance still lingering about Lu Ye. It was clear that he would still reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Judgment of the Heavens or not. Before he left, she cautioned, “Whatever you do, Lu Ye, practice caution above all else. Do not court unnecessary risk.”
Lu Ye took his leave with frustration budding in his mind.
If he was going to be constrained—being unable to kill enough enemies in the Spirit Creek Battlefield to invoke enough fear—then perhaps he should take Beaky with him?
He could undo the defensive wards of enemy outposts and leave the killing to Beaky. But for that to happen, Beaky would need to be at the Crimson Blood Sect outposts in the Battlefield.
Back when he was about to ascend into the Cloud River Realm and leave the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had set Beaky free from his years of service in keeping the Crimson Blood Sect outpost safe from invasion. The gigantic eagle had devoted itself to that charge solely out of its loyalty to the late Feng Wujiang, Tang Yifeng’s first student and Lu Ye’s senior, who was also Beaky’s former master.
Irrespective of whatever it was Lu Ye was about to do, he would first need to get into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. If no other solution had presented itself by the time he had reached there, he would just have to limit his number of kills.
Lu Ye stepped into the Sanctum of Providence and placed his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column to commingle his mind to it.
A revelation unfolded; he could not reenter the Cloud River Battlefield anymore—at least not for another month.
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But the entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was still open to him, although the response he received from the Divine Opportunity Column demanded a solemn toll—the offering of five hundred Contribution Points for his current rank of cultivation.
A nominal tribute, one might say, akin to a coin dropped into a fathomless well.
At the cusp of his mental wish, Lu Ye’s corporeal form vanished and he reappeared moments later, now within the Crimson Blood Sect outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Yet, a tempest of unseen forces came crashing down on him, an arcane current that imposed its dominion upon the very essence of his being. Lu Ye immediately felt his Spiritual Power being suppressed, the riverine flow of his Cloud River Realm Third-Order eldritch essence now truncated to a mere trickle.
He knew what it was—the Heavens’ restriction at play. His etheric strength was completely gone with a portion of his Spiritual Points sealed.
For any Cultivator beyond the Spirit Creek Realm to reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, their cultivation rank would be subjugated back to their zenith when they were last a member of this Battlefield.
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Powers more and more in gradual paces, using the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique to funnel the flow of his eldritch essence into his Spiritual Points.
With his Spiritual Power surging more smoothly now, his rank of cultivation slowly rose back up.
He could feel it… [The First-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm…]
[The Second-Order…]
[Then the Third-Order…]
All the way until he was restored back to Heaven Nine.
It did not take long for the acolytes at the outpost to realize that there was someone in the Sanctum of Providence. “Hold up, is that Brother Lu Ye?” one of them cried.
Some of them could barely believe their eyes and ears. As far as most of the newer acolytes were concerned, Lu Ye had made the rise into the Cloud River Realm quite some time ago. But what was he doing here when he should be in the Cloud River Battlefield by now?
They rubbed their eyes to make sure that they were not mistaken. Sure enough, that really was their senior brother Lu Ye.
But the commotion had attracted the notice of everyone else in the outpost, causing them to overrun Lu Ye with choruses of endless cheers and warm greetings.
News of his arrival swept across the outpost like a bushfire raging through a field in a dry season.
Lu Ye left the outpost after that and scaled a nearby foothill where Beaky made its home. But the nest was empty and the gigantic eagle was nowhere to be found, cutting short his initial plan of letting Beaky do the killing for him.
A stranger approached, riding atop his flying conveyance that landed with the grace of a falling leaf beside Lu Ye. The person made the sign of a salute, saying, “Greetings, Brother Lu Ye.”
Lu Ye turned his gaze, recognizing who it was—one of the first cohorts of independent Cultivators admitted as acolytes of the Crimson Blood Sect, although Lu Ye could not quite remember his name.
“You’re…”
“Tao Zhengyu, sir. I’m the present legate of this outpost.”
Over time, the Crimson Blood Sect outpost had laid witness to several rotations of both its legates and prolegates. Thanks to the abundance of supplies and consumables needed for the cultivation of their power and the luxuriant ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere surrounding the outpost, the acolytes have all been advancing swiftly. Most of the time, acolytes, upon reaching the Eighth-Order, would begin roaming the inner ring areas of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. As a consequence, the tenure of the legates and prolegates would often be brief since they became Eighth-Orders in no time.
Even shorter, in fact, when compared to the tenure of legateship and prolegateship at outposts situated within the inner ring and central areas of the Battlefield.
Lu Ye bobbed his head in acknowledgment and asked, “Do you know where Beaky is?”
“Unknown, I’m afraid. It frequents the vicinity of the outpost less often nowadays. It would come back once in a while, but only to depart before too long.”
Even as Tao Zhengyu relayed this information, he could not help observing Lu Ye as astutely as he could. Why had Lu Ye come here suddenly? Tao Zhengyu reflected on the events that had transpired since assuming the role of Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, but he could recall no glaring errors on his part at all. With cautious delicacy, he broached the subject, “Um, Brother Lu Ye, is there a purpose to your visit today?”
“Yes. I have something to take care of,” Lu Ye responded casually, his mind drifting into contemplation.
With Beaky’s whereabouts enshrouded in mystery, seeking it out at this juncture seemed unfeasible. But without the giant eagle to accompany him, his ability to kill enemies would suffer and so would his potential to instill dread within the many sects and orders of the Thousand Demons Ridge coalition.
In the midst of his thoughts, Lu Ye pondered over his dilemma: how would he reclaim the ten thousand Contribution Points and the Golden Body Token that he had lost on account of the pursuit that had so nearly killed him? Or should he just take this as merely a quest for payback and vent his frustration?
With his current proficiency in ward-casting, no Thousand Demon Ridge outposts were safe from him. But merely conquering enemy outposts, unless coupled with substantial benefits, seemed to lack meaningful purpose. This left Lu Ye ensnared in a quandary.
Truly, reality, often fraught with numerous twists and turns, rarely unfolds as anticipated.
In the meantime, Lu Ye’s silent reticence was weighing Tao Zhengyu down with unspoken pressure.
After a pause that felt like an eternity, Lu Ye finally broke his silence, “So be it then. Come, we’ll see what we can do.”
However, there was little doubt that whatever he did, it would immediately send every Thousand Demon Ridge sect or order into distress. Word of the Annihilator of Sect’s return would surely stir apprehension in the hearts of all who beheld it.
Given the constraints on the number of lives he could take, Lu Ye calculated that he could only target one or two enemy sects at most. But that was why he brought along Tao Zhengyu: so that the latter could seize the Blessings from the enemy Divine Opportunity Columns of the sects and orders he conquered. It wouldn’t do to leave any advantage untapped.
Lu Ye conjured his flying conveyance and with Tao Zhengyu, they ascended into the skies.
Tao Zhengyu remained baffled. Up until now, he was still oblivious to Lu Ye’s intentions. But he chose not to pry, opting to just follow in silence.
The journey was tranquil, a serene voyage.
Traveling from the outermost rim of the Spirit Creek Battlefield to the core circle demanded a considerable trek, and if Lu Ye still wielded his Cloud River Realm Third-Order power, the duration would have been reduced to a mere two or three days. But now that his current capabilities were restricted to just Heaven Nine of the Spirit Creek Realm, the time would naturally be doubled.
Thankfully, his current flying conveyance was of a middle-grade, granting him greater speeds compared to the lower-tier counterparts, although its singular drawback lay in its heightened consumption of his Spiritual Power.
The infrequent stops along the way to rest allowed Tao Zhengyu to gain a profound appreciation for the formidable depths of Lu Ye’s power. Prolonged flights using magical conveyances generally strained a Cultivator’s reserve of Spiritual Power and replenishment on the go remained a challenge. Yet, Lu Ye proved himself an extraordinary exception by how he could tirelessly maintain his journey without anything more than a half-hour’s rest each day.
In a mere four days, the duo arrived at the heart of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Lu Ye extracted his map, scrutinizing it closely as he pondered about attacking either the New Moon Sect or the Clouded Sun Sect.
Tan Sheng was a member of the New Moon Sect—a fact Lu Ye had confirmed during a casual conversation with Li Baxian—while the Clouded Sun Sect was where Wei Que hailed from.
Both the sects’ outposts were situated within the core circle of the Battlefield and Lu Ye knew about them. Back when he was still here, the legates of the two outposts had come offering their tributes as a gesture of peace before. Lu Ye might have not personally dealt with them closely before, but he knew them enough.
Given the constraint of limiting his kills, he needed to make a careful choice.
Ultimately, Lu Ye decided to just attack the New Moon Sect!
All the troubles and perils that had compelled Lu Ye to make use of his Golden Body Token to prevent him from dying and more than a hundred thousand Contribution Points to summon the Divine Opportunity Column to escape to freedom—everything began from Tan Sheng’s utilization of the Tracking Disc.
In essence, it was Tan Sheng’s fault that everything started.
This was a score that Lu Ye wanted to settle and hence, he would reclaim the losses he had suffered from the New Moon Sect.
After another half-day of travel, they finally arrived ten leagues outside the New Moon Sect’s outpost.
Lu Ye landed his flying conveyance. He took Amber and handed it to Tao Zhengyu, instructing, “Wait here.”
Tao Zhengyu took Amber in his hands, acknowledging him with a nod, and obediently stood in place.
Lu Ye dashed straight for the New Moon Sect outpost. He knew that this headlong charge at the enemy outpost was bound to involve confrontation with the enemy Cultivators. Having Tao Zhengyu—who was only just a Seventh-Order—around in such a skirmish, would pose certain inconveniences. That was why he chose to just leave him away from the fighting with Amber and Yi Yi to keep him safe was a more prudent decision.
In just the blink of an eye, Lu Ye covered ten leagues, arriving at the front gates of the outpost.
The golden dome of the New Moon Sect outpost’s defensive ward looked like a gigantic bowl of shimmering radiance.
The luminescent barrier did not look particularly corporeal, suggesting that the defensive ward wasn’t operating at its fullest capacity—which was understandable since no one would actively seek to invade another sect’s outpost.
No one except a certain individual called Lu Yi Ye.
Back when it was known that his newfound ability allowed him to undo the magic of defensive wards, the entire Battlefield turned into a chaotic mess. It was only after his ascension into the Cloud River Realm did the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders here rejoiced at the coming of a more tranquil period.
However, no one could have foreseen that the harbinger of turmoil would resurface once more after a barely three-month hiatus, here to again wreak havoc upon the Battlefield!
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