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Inside the Nine Wards Scroll, as Lu Ye’s saber fell, the Fox Mutant’s corpse was split apart, completely shattering her vitality.
He let out a long sigh before flicking the blood off the Inviolable Saber. Now that he could finally relax, he stumbled slightly.
The battle with the Fox Mutant had not been too perilous. Mainly, it exhausted too much of his Mental Power in a short period, which left him feeling a bit tired.
His body was covered in wounds, but none of them were severe. With his physique, recovering wouldn’t be difficult.
“Yi Yi, what’s the situation outside?” Lu Ye asked.
Logically speaking, with the Fox Mutant’s death, her Divine Soul Secret Technique should have dispelled automatically. However, he couldn’t be certain if that was the case.
Yi Yi’s voice quickly reached his ears, “Everyone has returned to normal, but a few cultivators from the Thousand Demon Ridge escaped first, including Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.”
“Those bastards are quick!” Lu Ye clenched his teeth.
Originally, after killing the Fox Mutant, he planned to deal with Tan Sheng and Xia Liang as well. Even though he had been cultivating with Xia Liang during this time, he hadn’t forgotten the enmity between them.
If he hadn’t been sealed within the Nine Wards Scroll, he could have immediately intervened in the battlefield after killing the Fox Mutant, but as he was inside the Nine Wards Scroll, he couldn’t influence the situation outside.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng knew the wolf pack as they had suffered a great loss from them previously in the Arcane Glade. So, after breaking free from Fox Mutant’s control, their first priority was to flee far away.
With the two of them being in the Ninth Order and fully focused on escaping, there was really nothing the wolf pack could do to deal with them.
Though he felt it a bit regretful, he had no choice but to accept it.
Lu Ye took a few steps forward and approached the Fox Mutant’s corpse. After searching for a while, he found a Storage Bag.
This was the Fox Mutant’s Storage Bag, which she always carried with her. Now that she was dead, it naturally became Lu Ye’s spoils of war.
He wasn’t sure how many valuable things she had, but the one thing he knew was that there was an elite-level Spirit Beast’s Mutant Core inside, the same Mutant Core that was obtained from killing the Berserk Giant Ape, which she had stored in the pouch.
This was an extremely rare treasure.
Throughout history, there were very few records of elite-level Spirit Beasts being killed on the Cloud River Battlefield. Just from the past missions of Fox Immortal Valley, it was evident that without a group of two to three hundred cultivators, it would be impossible to succeed in confronting them. Moreover, there would be significant losses, making it a futile endeavor.
So, cultivators on the Cloud River Battlefield wouldn’t generally make active attempts to provoke, let alone kill, elite-level Spirit Beasts.
This time, they were able to kill the Berserk Giant Ape driven by the Fox Mutant’s hatred, with the cultivators’ fearless sacrifices under the influence of her Divine Soul Secret Technique, and the assistance of the many Wards laid by Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan.
Just by holding the Mutant Core of an elite-level Spirit Beast in his hand, Lu Ye could feel its vigorous power. If he handed it over to Amber to be devoured and refined, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit.
Of course, the spoils didn’t just end there.
Lu Ye once again placed his hand on the Fox Mutant’s corpse, rummaging silently for a moment. He then lifted the Inviolable Saber and cut down. After a while, another Mutant Core was extracted.
This was the Fox Mutant’s Mutant Core. Even though it couldn’t compare to the Mutant Core of an elite-level Spirit Beast, it was still of considerable value.
Lu Ye wiped away the bloodstains on the Mutant Core and looked at it in his hand, feeling slightly astonished.
The Mutant Core was only the size of a baby’s fist and was a strange pink color. It emitted a faint glow as if flames were burning on it.
[This is… a Core Flame?]
Core Flames were not the kind of flames used for alchemy but rather the inner core of a Spirit Beast of the fire attribute. Lu Ye had bought quite a few of them from the Vault of Providence before and had the Tree of Glyphs devour them.
Upon careful thought, the Fox Mutant did indeed possess the characteristics of a fire attribute Spirit Beast as she used that Foxfire that could stir one’s mind during their battle.
In the Vault of Providence, Core Flames had varying prices, ranging from several hundred to several thousand or even tens of thousands of Contribution Points. There was even a Mystic Flame called the Paramount Glacial Flame, worth as many as 180,000 Contribution Points.
Lu Ye wasn’t sure how much this Mutant Core from the Fox Mutant was worth, but it shouldn’t be too valuable.
Since it was a Core Flame, it could naturally be devoured.
With a thought, roots emerged from Lu Ye’s Tree of Glyphs and penetrated into an invisible space. In the next moment, the luster of the Core Flame in his hand quickly dimmed as its energy was devoured by the Tree of Glyphs.
Immersing his mind to investigate the changes in the Tree of Glyphs, Lu Ye didn’t expect a single Mutant Core to cause such a significant transformation. However, he was astonished to see that as the energy of the Mutant Core was devoured, a leaf on the upper part of the Tree of Glyphs suddenly reacted and visibly ignited at a rapid speed.
Unlike the blazing flames that the other leaves ignited, this particular leaf burned with the same pink color as the Fox Mutant’s Mutant Core.
It was the first time Lu Ye had encountered such a situation, and he was stunned for a moment.
After a while, the energy of the Mutant Core in his hand was exhausted, turning into dust and scattering away. The Tree of Glyphs now had a unique leaf that burned with a pink flame, making it stand out from the rest.
Lu Ye had a vague feeling that he might have underestimated the value of the Fox Mutant’s Mutant Core.
After all, it was the Mutant Core of a Six-Tailed Divine Fox and shouldn’t be regarded lightly. Just from the transformation it caused in the Tree of Glyphs, he could tell that its value was immense.
Suppressing his curiosity, Lu Ye didn’t immediately check the information contained within the burning leaf.
He was currently injured and his Mental Power was severely depleted. Moreover, there were many matters waiting for him to handle outside, so he couldn’t afford to delay.
“Yi Yi!” Lu Ye called out softly.
Yi Yi understood and activated the power of the Nine Wards Scroll. In the next moment, Lu Ye’s figure was expelled from the scroll.
Just as he steadied himself, Amber darted over and perched on his shoulder.
Amber was quite clever. When the Fox Mutant subjugated Ju Jia with a single glance, it had jumped off Lu Ye, keeping a safe distance. It was afraid of being enslaved by the Fox Mutant as well.
There were no longer sounds of fighting around them, and the numerous Wolf Mutants stood quietly by the side while the remaining cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley gathered together, their faces filled with sorrow.
When they were under the control of the Fox Mutant, they didn’t feel that their actions were wrong, but the moment she died and the Divine Soul Secret Technique was broken, all that they had endured over the years surged into their hearts at once. All of them asked themselves in self-reflection, [What have I been doing?]
Especially Xie Yunhan, who had stayed in Fox Immortal Valley for a full twelve years, completely cutting off contact with his sect and relatives. His cultivation had not improved much during that time, and he was simply wasting away his precious time.
Though the others hadn’t been in Fox Immortal Valley as long as Xie Yunhan, they had spent at least one or two years there. Reflecting on their days in Fox Immortal Valley, they all felt ashamed and uneasy.
Seeing Lu Ye appear, everyone gathered around him.
“Cultivator Lu,” Zhou Yuntian, covered in blood, bowed to Lu Ye and asked with some apprehension, “Is that Fox Mutant… dead?”
Despite the fact that they knew for sure that Fox Mutant had died the moment the Divine Soul Secret Technique was broken, they didn’t dare to be certain until they received certain confirmation.
The psychological shadow cast in their hearts by the Fox Mutant was too great.
“I have slain the Fox Mutant, so fellow cultivators need not worry,” Lu Ye replied. Not only was she killed, her Mutant Core was also devoured by the Tree of Glyphs. He just wondered whether he would gain any new Glyphs from it.
Upon hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief, looking much more relaxed compared to before. Zhou Yuntian bowed again. “We were imprisoned and deceived by the Fox Mutant without realizing it. Thank you for rescuing us, Lu Ye. This kindness you have shown is akin to granting us life anew. If you have any orders in the future, we will not dare to refuse them.”
Others also solemnly bowed and expressed their gratitude.
Lu Ye returned the gesture. “Fellow cultivators, there’s no need to be so formal. I was merely trying to save myself. Unfortunately, we still lost the lives of many companions.”
Xie Yunhan sighed. “That’s just fate. It’s already remarkable enough that Brother Lu could save us.”
Even though none of them knew how Lu Ye had the ability to command such a wolf pack to assist in the battle, even if the wolf pack was powerful and numerous, they wouldn’t necessarily be effective against the peak strength of Fox Immortal Valley.
Lu Ye chose to confront the Berserk Giant Ape in Fox Immortal Valley before taking action, which was undoubtedly the smartest choice. When the Wolf Mutants surrounded them earlier, it was evident that they had received orders to simply surround rather than kill them. Otherwise, there would likely be very few survivors.
“No matter what, we have finally been freed from the Fox Mutant’s control. This is a fortunate event. You don’t have to wear such gloomy expressions anymore. Think about your sects, think about your brothers and sisters. We no longer have to be lowly slaves,” Zhou Yuntian said.
Someone muttered, “After hearing what Cultivator Zhou said… I miss home.”
Suddenly, everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with longing gazes. In Fox Immortal Valley, under Fox Mutant’s command, no one dared to communicate with the outside world. In the past years, their friends and relatives had been searching for them, trying to contact them… Previously, while under Fox Mutant’s control, they didn’t think much of it. But now, as soon as they were freed, a tidal wave of longing overwhelmed them.
“Then… Let’s go home?” someone murmured softly.
Zhou Yuntian raised his arm and called out, “If not now, then when will you go?”
Once the longing surged forth uncontrollably, everyone was eager to return to their sects and hometowns to share the sorrow of their long separation with their families.
“Let’s go home!” someone responded.
Emotions ran high for a while.
Zhou Yuntian turned to Lu Ye. “Cultivator Lu, what are your plans?”
After a brief thought, Lu Ye replied, “My Senior Brother and I have just entered the Cloud River Battlefield not long ago, so we won’t be returning for now. Besides, I’m still injured and need some time to recuperate. You all can go ahead.”
Zhou Yuntian initially wanted to persuade Lu Ye to leave with them since this place was deep within Grand Wilds Peak with many powerful Spirit Beasts about. However, he suddenly remembered that Lu Ye had a wolf pack guarding him, making it unlikely that he would face any danger. So, he didn’t say anything more and nodded. “In that case, take care, Cultivator Lu. If you need any help in the future, just let us know.”
Everyone bid farewell to Lu Ye and exchanged Battlefield Imprints with him.
After a while, the cultivators rose into the air with their telekinetic techniques and quickly departed as Lu Ye, Li Baxian, and the others saw them off. They were all of considerable cultivation and traveling in a group, so they would generally not encounter any danger as long as they didn’t encounter elite-level Spirit Beast monsters.
Almost simultaneously as Zhou Yuntian and the others left, Lu Ye suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart. As if something was descending upon him from the sky, accompanied by a slight feeling of warmth on the back of his hands.
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