Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
By the time the four people from Mystic Sect returned to their senses, Lu Ye had already retrieved the spoils of his battle, leaped onto the tiger’s back, and left in a cloud of dust.
“Just now… He…” A young woman among those four stuttered incoherently. Even her companions did not understand what she was trying to say. The shock of everything they had just witnessed was far too much for them.
The fact that Lu Ye was only in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm was not something he could conceal. They also had two Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters among them, but none of them could ever have imagined that a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master could be so aggressive. In the short span of 10 seconds, that person had managed to slaughter three opponents that they had difficulty contending against. Not to mention, one of the opponents was a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!
What Lu Ye did could be considered exceeding his limits to kill his opponent. That was something generally only disciples from the major Sects could do. Nevertheless, they were sure about one thing: If that young man riding on the tiger had wanted to attack them, they would die even faster than the three people from Nine Star Clan.
While they were absent-minded, the tiger that was disappearing into the distance suddenly turned around and ran back toward them again. The expression of the burly man in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm immediately changed at the sight. He hurriedly protected his three other companions behind his back and looked forward vigilantly.
A short while later, Amber stopped right in front of these four people. Lu Ye sat up straight on the tiger’s back and looked down on them from above. The distance between them was no more than 15 metres. A strong sense of oppression made the chest of the female cultivator in the group tighten with a sense of breathlessness.
“Do you have Spirit Pills?” The young man on the tiger’s back suddenly asked.
“Huh… Yes!” The burly man quickly replied. “Do you want them?”
Lu Ye nodded. “I need Spirit Pills.”
The burly man hurriedly untied the Storage Bag around his waist and unlocked the Restraining Lock on his Storage Bag. An idea seemed to come to him and he turned to his companions and said, “Hand your Spirit Pills to me.”
How could those three dare to defy him? They quickly took out the Spirit Pills from their respective Storage Bags and clumsily placed them in the hands of the burly man. After that, the burly man emptied out the contents of his Storage Bag and transferred them to somebody else’s Storage Bag. A short while later, he tossed the Storage Bag containing the Spirit Pills to Lu Ye. Lu Ye caught the Storage Bag easily.
“Many thanks,” Lu Ye said. Then, he tossed the spoils of his battle that he collected previously to the ground. Amber turned around and left once more.
It wasn’t until Lu Ye’s figure vanished out of sight that the four people from Mystic Sect breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. They thought that they were going to be robbed when Lu Ye turned back to ask them for Spirit Pills. Even if Lu Ye had done that, they could only pinch their noses and resign themselves to their fate. Putting aside the fact that they were no match for Lu Ye, he was still their saviour regardless.
In any case, it was only natural that their lives were more important than their Spirit Pills. The burly man had even prepared his speech when he tossed the Storage Bag containing the Spirit Pills to Lu Ye. He was ready to use those Spirit Pills to express his thanks for saving them. Who could have expected that Lu Ye did not take those Spirit Pills for nothing? He had tossed the spoils of the previous battle to them in exchange.
The four people from Mystic Sect looked at the three Storage Bags on the ground, two low-grade Spirit Artifacts, and a small battered shield, feeling speechless for a while. A quick calculation later, they realized that not only did they not suffer any losses but they even earned quite a sum of money instead! Thus, they felt a little unsure as to whether they should laugh or cry.
Bending down to retrieve the items on the ground, the burly man pondered in silence for a moment before he said decisively, “Let’s head back to base!”
Every one of them was injured. More importantly, none of them had any Spirit Pills left. It would be difficult for them to fight another battle. In their current circumstances, the most sensible decision was to return to the base to replenish their supplies. Besides, they did not have the ability to unlock the Storage Bags obtained from the cultivators of the Nine Star Clan. They had no choice but to return to the base, turn those Storage Bags over to the Sect, and ask the Elders of the Sect for help.
On the other side, Lu Ye rode on the tiger to find a secluded tunnel where he could check out his harvest. It had been a sudden and whimsical idea to ask those people from Mystic Sect for Spirit Pills. The main reason was that he had a little too many Storage Bags in his possession. He already had a few Storage Bags on him before he entered the Split Sky Gorge. After he killed that batch of people from Nine Star Clan, he obtained another four Storage Bags.
If he took any more, he would run out of places to hide them. Even if he tied them all at his waist, they would only hinder him in a fight… More importantly, all of these Storage Bags were sealed with the Restriction Lock so he had no way of opening them. Instead of bringing them along with him, he might as well exchange them for Spirit Pills with the people from Mystic Sect.
Those four in Mystic Sect did not give him many Spirit Pills. Their cultivation was relatively low and they were not particularly wealthy, so whatever Spirit Pills they received would be consumed immediately. The four of them combined had given him a total of 16 Spirit Pills. Moreover, 5 of these Spirit Pills were Healing Pills. He mentioned that he needed Spirit Pills but did not say which, so they took out both the Spirit Restoring Pills and the Healing Pills.
[Not a bad harvest… The idea I thought up on the spot is ingenious indeed. This way, I just might obtain a large amount of cultivation resources in the Split Sky Gorge.]
On another note, the number recorded as his Contribution in his Battlefield Imprint had changed too. It went from 34 to 56, increasing by a total of 22 points of Contribution. The increase in these numbers was very puzzling to him. He previously gained 26 points of Contribution from killing four people from Nine Star Clan, including the Young Master of Nine Star Clan, and another 22 points of Contribution from this battle. He could not tell what the standard of increase was for the Contribution.
Hence, he made up his mind, deciding to pay careful attention to the changes in the numbers the next time he killed a person. Hopefully, he might be able to infer something regarding the rules of how it worked.
He had not been seriously injured in this battle. The only injury he suffered was a stab to his waist by a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Therefore, he lightly bandaged his wound and cleaned himself up a little before he continued on his journey. The Spiritual Power in his body was enough that he could still continue fighting with no issues.
From time to time, he would come across traces left behind by battles in the gorge. Many of these places also had dried bloodstains and mutilated corpses. It went to show just how fierce the battles were between Mystic Sect and Nine Star Clan. .𝘤𝘰𝑚
They had not traveled far when Yi Yi, who was scouting the way ahead, came back to report that there was a group of two coming in this direction. Lu Ye immediately told Amber to hide, then he walked toward those two on his own.
A short while later, he ran straight into the two-man group. Both sides were on guard as they looked each other up and down.
A bright light flashed across Lu Ye’s eyes. He swiftly determined the other party’s cultivation. Both of them were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. A combination like theirs could not be considered weak. Moreover, judging by the injuries on their bodies, it was obvious that they had just experienced battle not too long ago. It might be that the other party used to consist of more than just two people…
What bewildered him was that the Battlefield Imprints on the back of their hands were not glowing with light. He could not tell which faction these two belonged to, so he was unable to make a move.
To his surprise, the other party studied him for a moment before visibly relaxing. One of them even walked over with a smile. He spoke as he walked. “Aren’t you a brave one, Fellow Cultivator? I can’t believe you dare to walk around even though you are alone.”
The cogs in Lu Ye’s brain turned quickly. He realized that the other party had mistaken him for one of their own. His hand that had been holding the hilt of his knife relaxed as he calmly replied, “I got separated from the rest during a fight.”
That person said, “You sure are lucky. If you don’t mind, you can join the two of us. The three of us will be better able to take care of each other that way.”
“Of course.” Lu Ye nodded in response. In this situation, silence was golden.
That person raised his hand. “Although I don’t think it’s necessary, it’s still best if you verify your identity with us.”
While speaking, a red glow appeared on the back of his hand.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows and confirmed the situation with his own eyes. This was a person he could cut down! When the gravel under his feet flew into the air, he had already rushed forward to attack with his knife under the stunned gazes of the other two.