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The Butcher didn’t explain much. Perhaps he didn’t know, or perhaps some things were hard to explain.
In that case, Lu Ye’s plan would go down the drain.
He initially thought that following such a calamity, the Lost City of Xianyuan would be conquered, and all the sentries would be wiped out. Even the powerful City Lord and the red-clothed woman must have passed away. With the help of his insectoid squad, he should be able to enter the City Lord’s Mansion and get as much Soul Cleansing Water as he wanted.
Things turned out to be different from what he had expected.
Many sentries were still moving around in the city, so the City Lord was likely alive and kicking.
In that case, Lu Ye wouldn’t be able to obtain Soul Cleansing Water even if he managed to barge into the mansion, which was an annoying thought.
It wasn’t that Lu Ye wanted the City Lord to go to Hell; it was just that he couldn’t carry on with his plan.
“When will you go to the City Lord’s Mansion, Senior?” Lu Ye asked.
Although the chance was low, he still wanted to give it a shot. His trip to this city was a rare opportunity, after all. Compared to battle points, he had a stronger desire to obtain Soul Cleansing Water, which would be immensely useful in his next plan.
Moreover, he also needed to talk to the City Lord and find out how he could leave.
He had entered the Lost City of Xianyuan this time without even knowing the reason, but it wasn’t like he could stay here forever. He had to leave in the end, but he had no idea how to do that.
Perhaps the City Lord could give him an answer.
The Butcher glanced at him and replied, “My task is to destroy all the insectoids from this area to the periphery. I won’t go back before completing my task.”
Understanding his intentions, Lu Ye nodded. “I’ll help you out, then.”
If he couldn’t get his hands on Soul Cleansing Water, he had to acquire more battle points at the very least. The Butcher was in the Divine Ocean Realm while the sentries were mostly in the Real Lake Realm. It would be safer for Lu Ye to stay by their side. As long as the Butcher could complete his task, Lu Ye could follow him back to the City Lord’s Mansion.
“Whatever!” The Butcher didn’t turn him down. Lu Ye alone might not be of much help, but his insectoid squad might prove to be tremendously useful.
The unintelligent insectoids would never expect to be killed by their companions.
“By the way, what’s going on with the red lanterns outside the buildings? I recall that the sentries couldn’t enter such buildings the last time I was here.”
That was what puzzled Lu Ye. The last time he was in this city, these special buildings served as the shelter for the foreign cultivators, blocking out the sentries. He initially thought these buildings were like restricted areas for the sentries.
Now, that didn’t seem to be the case, for the sentries could enter such buildings.
Just like how the foreign cultivators shielded themselves from the sentries with the help of these buildings previously, the sentries made use of these buildings to hide from the insectoids this time.
“I told you it’s all a game. What you see might not be real. Also, even in the most despairing situation, the Heavens will provide a way out. Do you get it?” R̃𝖆Ｎ𝖔฿Ɛṧ
Certainly, Lu Ye didn’t quite understand what the Butcher meant, but he soon realised something when he recalled the man mentioning the Heavens.
Just as he expected, the Heavens were everywhere.
Be it the opening up of the Hidden Realm previously or the insectoid attack on the city this time, these well-protected buildings served as places for the cultivators to get some rest and recuperate.
Although the Butcher was a Divine Ocean Realm Master, he wasn’t as solemn as the others in the same Realm. Moreover, it seemed that he hadn’t talked to a Human for a long time, so he was more than happy to have a long conversation with Lu Ye. He was especially interested in the outside world’s affairs. As such, he listened intently as Lu Ye spoke, and he would ask some questions from time to time, to which Lu Ye answered patiently.
He also asked Lu Ye about how to enslave the insectoids. Certainly, Lu Ye wouldn’t hide anything from him. When the Butcher learned that it was the power of a Divine Glyph, he was amazed.
He initially thought Lu Ye was a Beastmaster, which was why the latter had a way to control the insectoids.
After resting for about two hours, the Butcher led the sentries to set off to their next destination.
They had a task to complete, after all.
There were quite many squads like them in the city, and every squad was responsible for killing the insectoids in a particular area.
Lu Ye didn’t come across them earlier because he had been lingering on the periphery. Most sentries were in the city centre, which was why Lu Ye didn’t bump into them even though he had been moving around for quite a while.
A Divine Ocean Realm Master was leading a squad of seven to eight Real Lake Realm Masters. Undoubtedly, this was a force to be reckoned with. The insectoids they came across were powerless to counterattack. Nonetheless, there were too many insectoids in the city. Once they got into a prolonged fight, the other insectoids would come over to help their companions upon hearing the noise.
Therefore, even though they were powerful, they didn’t dare act recklessly. The Butcher would always find the special building first as a retreat. After killing some insectoids, he would lead the sentries to go in and get some rest. The same thing happened again and again as they moved towards the periphery.
Lu Ye’s insectoid squad proved to be helpful. Amidst the chaos, the seven insectoids could easily kill the enemies, helping Lu Ye earn a lot of battle points and easing the burden on the sentries.
If the Butcher and the others were normal cultivators, it would’ve been a war without any mystery as to who the winners would be.
Unfortunately, they were all apparitions, so they were unable to replenish the energy they had spent contending with the enemies. They grew weaker as time passed.
The small number of sentries in the Cloud River Realm were translucent now.
Nonetheless, they seemed unperturbed as if it didn’t matter, and they chatted joyfully with Lu Ye during their break.
It was rare that there was a visitor in the city who could talk to them. Therefore, the sentries were hospitable towards Lu Ye as they talked incessantly to him just about anything.
A feisty female sentry even asked questions that were difficult to answer. Lu Ye was bashful while the other sentries giggled.
After another battle ended, the Butcher led the sentries to get some rest.
As usual, even though the sentries were frail and translucent, they didn’t seem bothered one bit.
Lu Ye felt that their lives didn’t seem important to them, and they were completely unafraid of death.
This made Lu Ye revere them.
After hesitating for a while, he steeled himself to head to the second floor and look for the Butcher.
“Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” The Butcher looked curiously at him.
Lu Ye replied, “Soul Cleansing Water in the Pool of Divine Purification should help all of you restore your energy. Didn’t you bring it with you?”
He initially thought that the Butcher and the others would carry some Soul Cleansing Water with them to replenish their energy. Now, it seemed that they didn’t have Soul Cleansing Water with them, which was why they became weaker as time passed.
“It is Soul Mist, not Soul Cleansing Water, in the Pool of Divine Purification. We can’t condense it through usual means, so how are we supposed to bring it out?” Explained the Butcher.
Lu Ye was shocked, clearly not expecting such an answer. After giving it some thought, he realised that it was indeed Soul Mist in the Pool of Divine Purification. In the past, he had built a huge Spirit Gathering Funnel to turn the mist into water. Other people, even those in the Divine Ocean Realm, might not be able to do that.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, the apparitions in the city had been repeatedly going through the same thing for the past thousands of years. Death was not terrifying to them; it was merely the beginning of the next journey.
On the other hand, the Pool of Divine Purification was crucial. It was the foundation for the Lost City of Xianyuan and the other Rifts of Fortune. As long as the energy in the pool wasn’t depleted, the city would never fall. As such, since time immemorial, no one had ever thought about turning the mist into water and bringing it out.
It would be fine if they did that one to two times, but if they repeatedly did it, the pool would be affected negatively.
Therefore, even if the City Lord had a way to turn the mist into water, he wouldn’t do that.
“You know the Pool of Divine Purification?” The Butcher was astounded.
“Yes, I’ve been there.” Lu Ye nodded. Previously, he had a deal with the City Lord, who agreed to let Amber and Ju Jia enter the pool to strengthen their souls. Much to his surprise, Lu Ye took some Soul Cleansing Water out of the pool, which was why he was incensed.
“I don’t have much of it left, so you guys have to share it equally among yourselves,” Lu Ye said and whipped out a jade bottle before passing it to the Butcher.
A doubtful Butcher took the bottle and opened the lid before appearing shocked. “Where did you get it from?”
As an apparition in the Lost City of Xianyuan, he could immediately recognise what was inside the bottle. Nonetheless, he had no idea how Lu Ye even acquired it.
“What do you think?” Lu Ye shot him a glance.
The Butcher soon came to his senses and guffawed. “Didn’t the City Lord try to kill you?”
The fact that Lu Ye was still alive and kicking showed that the City Lord didn’t manage to destroy him.
The Butcher finally understood why the City Lord appeared irritable after the Hidden Realm opened up previously, for Lu Ye had taken some Soul Cleansing Water out of the pool.
“I won’t forget about your favour, brat.” The Butcher patted Lu Ye’s shoulder and drew a drop of water from the bottle before consuming it. Soon, the frailty around him disappeared in a blink.
Then, he went to the first floor and shared the rest of Soul Cleansing Water with the other sentries.
The weak sentries were instantly energised.
Upon learning that it was Lu Ye who gave them the Soul Cleansing Water, they became even more passionate when they were already fond of him.
The feisty female apparition, whose name was Yu Qing, even seemed eager to marry him, making Lu Ye embarrassed while the other sentries looked on gleefully.
They soon set off again. With the Butcher leading the way, they repeatedly destroyed the insectoids on the streets and entered the special buildings to recuperate.
Although their energy had been replenished, the task of wiping out the insectoids remained difficult. After several rounds of battle, they exerted themselves and became frail again.
This time, there wasn’t any Soul Cleansing Water for them to restore their energy.
Lu Ye had more than 100,000 battle points now, but he wasn’t jovial.
As he looked at these frail sentries who still never stopped smiling, he was bewildered, wondering if they were truly unafraid of death.
Even though they were apparitions, they were not supposed to be so calm and collected in the face of death.
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