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“Let’s go in and get some rest,” ordered the cultivator with a knife in a dispassionate voice. Although the sentries of Xianyuan City Watch were doubtful, they obeyed his order and returned to the building where they had been hiding.
Soon, the cultivator looked in Lu Ye’s direction with a scrutinising and doubting gaze.
Although he was aware of someone concealing his presence over there, he had no idea who the person was. Moreover, he hadn’t heard of anyone who was able to enslave the insectoids in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Since he was in a battle earlier, he didn’t have time to ponder. Now that the fight was over, he naturally had to get to the bottom of it.
Noticing the other party’s stare, Lu Ye took the initiative to reveal himself.
Although the cultivator was a sedate man who was unafraid of death, he was still astounded when he saw Lu Ye. “Why are you here?”
Certainly, he remembered Lu Ye.
Around one to two years ago, when the Lost City of Xianyuan opened up, Lu Ye visited this place. At that time, the cultivator was turned into a Ghost Spirit by Amber, and he had been following Lu Ye around for quite a while.
At that time, Lu Ye was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, but his aura showed that he was in the Real Lake Realm now. The cultivator felt that the man’s increase in power was terrifyingly rapid.
He even felt that he might have remembered something incorrectly.
Upon hearing the cultivator’s words, Lu Ye was certain that the person before his eyes was the same one he had come across before.
Back then, Amber had turned quite many people into Ghost Spirits, but they were mostly sentries. There were five special Ghost Spirits, though. They were Liu Sanbao, Pipa Girl, the scholar, the Butcher, and the blind fortune teller.
These five Ghost Spirits respectively had their special skills. Their cultivation and moves were more powerful than those of the sentries.
During the previous trip to the Lost City of Xianyuan, Lu Ye had a high turnover rate of the sentries who followed him, but these five unique Ghost Spirits had been by his side for a long time.
When they eventually came across the City Lord, he cut off the connection between Amber and the Ghost Spirits.
At that time, Lu Ye felt that it was such a shame. Apart from a special environment such as the Lost City of Xianyuan, there was nowhere else where Amber could easily turn others into Ghost Spirits.
After all, Lu Ye had never seen other apparitions before other than Yi Yi in the outside world.
Now, this man, who was thought to be in the Divine Ocean Realm, was one of the five special Ghost Spirits back then, the Butcher!
“It’s been a long time since we last met, Senior.” Lu Ye cupped his fists. He had no idea what his name was, but since the man was significantly more powerful, he reckoned he should call him ‘Senior’.
Both of them were equally puzzled.
The Butcher had no idea why Lu Ye was even here and could enslave the insectoids.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was wondering how a Spirit Creek Realm Master had turned into a Divine Ocean Realm Master so quickly.
Since the street wasn’t the best place to have a conversation, the Butcher beckoned to him. “Come on in.”
Lu Ye nodded and stepped forward before entering the building with him. He didn’t have to worry about his insectoid squad as they would be fine staying outside.
Inside the house, the sentries were adjusting their breathing. They looked weary from the battle earlier, and some of their bodies no longer looked so solid.
It was apparent that they had exerted themselves. Apparitions were not made of flesh, after all. They were somewhere between virtual and real. They would appear thinner if they had spent too much energy, and in the worst-case scenario, they might become invisible and dissipate altogether.
Presently, Lu Ye was also an apparition, but unlike the others, he was able to consume Spirit Pills to replenish his Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, the sentries couldn’t do that. Regardless of how long they could rest here, it would be useless if they were unable to restore their Soul Powers. They would only feel less exhausted as time passed. řåŊọ𝐛Ёṧ
“Who is this, Sir?”
When Lu Ye came into the building with the Butcher, these sentries were astonished.
The Lost City of Xianyuan was a large city with a lot of sentries, but having spent so many years together, they were familiar with each other, remembering all the faces. Therefore, it was a surprise that an unfamiliar face appeared all of a sudden.
Instead of explaining anything, the Butcher merely ordered, “Get some rest, for we have even more battles ahead of us!”
Then, he led Lu Ye to the second floor.
When Lu Ye was out of sight, one sentry came to his senses and whispered, “I remember him. He was the one who killed me previously.” He was talking about the last time Lu Ye came to the Lost City of Xianyuan.
If Lu Ye were there, he would’ve been puzzled. Since this sentry was killed, why was he still alive and kicking now?
Upon hearing that, another sentry asked, “Are you saying he’s an Outsider?”
“Has the Hidden Realm opened up? No, I don’t think so. There are signs every time the Hidden Realm opens up, and the time hasn’t come yet. Moreover, during the period when the insectoids attack the city, the Hidden Realm isn’t accessible to the Outsiders. How did he even come in?”
“Compared to that, I’m more concerned about the anomaly during the battle earlier. Several insectoids were killing their companions as if they had been enslaved. Sir didn’t ask us to destroy those insectoids either. It seems like that this guy was the one who controlled the insectoids.”
“Can anyone do that in the world? It’s said that insectoids can never be enslaved.”
“Who knows? Perhaps in this age, some people have invented a way to control the insectoids.”
…
The conversation between the sentries was fervent.
This was unlike the impression Lu Ye had of them.
As far as he was concerned, sentries were apparitions with low sentience. Even the squad leaders were inflexible. As such, he was impressed by the Butcher and the others, since apparitions like them behaved just like Humans.
Now, it seemed that besides the fact that the sentries were apparitions, they were no different from Humans.
The entire Lost City of Xianyuan seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of mystery.
After the Butcher took Lu Ye to the second floor, he told him to have a seat and looked out the window for a while. Then, he turned around and looked at Lu Ye with a frown, asking, “Are you dead?”
Lu Ye didn’t expect to hear that kind of question. Despite his urge to roll his eyes, he shook his head and denied it. “No.”
“How did you come in, then? The Hidden Realm supposedly hasn’t opened up yet.”
Only when the Hidden Realm opened up would there be a lot of Humans, just like what had happened previously. However, when the Hidden Realm was closed, the Humans would be chased out.
The same thing happened repeatedly over the years. There had never been a time when there were Outsiders while the Hidden Realm was closed.
Lu Ye replied, “I came here through the Mystic Fruit Seed.”
“What’s that?” The Butcher frowned. It was apparent that he had never heard of it.
Just as Lu Ye was ready to fish out the Mystic Fruit Seed, he recalled that he was now an apparition in this city. Although he had access to the things in his Storage Bag and Storage Sphere, he couldn’t bring the seed, which was the key to the Rift of Illusions, with him. As such, he described what the seed looked like and explained its amazing uses instead.
The Butcher seemed to understand what Lu Ye was talking about, but he hadn’t figured out why that thing could help a Human enter this city as an apparition. After giving it some thought, he formed some speculation.
If his speculation was right, it was not impossible that Lu Ye could enter the city.
In that case, there must be something special about the man before his eyes as an average person wouldn’t receive such treatment.
“What’s your name?” asked the Butcher.
“I’m Lu Ye, a disciple from Crimson Blood Sect,” Lu Ye replied. “What’s your name, Senior?”
“Haven’t you been calling me Butcher? Just call me that.”
Certainly, Lu Ye remembered calling him ‘Butcher’ when he was in the city previously, but he was hesitant to call him that again now.
Nonetheless, it didn’t bother the Butcher one bit. “I’m a Butcher in this city, so you’re not wrong to call me that.” Suddenly recalling something, he told Lu Ye, “But if you see that woman again, don’t call her crybaby. She’ll be displeased if she hears someone calls her that, and she will teach you a lesson.”
Lu Ye was embarrassed upon hearing that.
Crybaby was Pipa Girl. Her sonic attacks were incredible as they could unsettle and enchant the enemies. Of the five special Ghost Spirits, Pipa Girl was the most useful to Lu Ye. Be it the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge or sentries, she could weaken their powers by 30 percent with the sounds of her pipa and her cries.
“Her name is Xi Wanying.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Lu Ye nodded with a solemn expression and told himself in secret that he had to call her Xi Wanying instead of crybaby.
However, it might be too late, for he had called the woman crybaby previously. If she wanted to settle the score with him, she would teach him a lesson when they met again.
An apprehensive Lu Ye asked, “Senior, how is Senior Xi’s cultivation compared to yours?”
“She is more powerful than me.” The Butcher’s words pulled Lu Ye out of his wishful thinking.
Therefore, he could only pray that he wouldn’t bump into that woman again.
“Senior, what happened to all of you? Why are you guys so powerful now? The last time we met, you were only in the Spirit Creek Realm,” Lu Ye asked doubtfully. “Also, what is it about the Lost City of Xianyuan? Why am I here all of a sudden?”
The Butcher explained, “What you see might not be real when it comes to cultivation. When the Hidden Realm opened up previously, old farts like us decided to play a little game with you guys. The cultivation we showcase depends on how powerful all of you are.”
“A little game?” Lu Ye was perplexed.
“It’s a bit of fun in the countless years we’ve been staying here. You can regard this game as something that helps keep our humanity, and you don’t need to know the rest.”
Lu Ye nodded in puzzlement, but he had a vague understanding of what the Butcher meant. When the Hidden Realm opened up previously, cultivators like them were only in the Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Therefore, the Butcher and the others presented themselves as cultivators in the same league, though they appeared to be slightly more powerful.
“As for what the Lost City of Xianyuan is about and why you are here… If you have a chance to see the City Lord, ask him about it. He will tell you if he wants to.”
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