Chapter 102: Arriving Following the Sound

Here's the rewritten content, focusing on clarity, natural English, and grammatical correctness:

Good books, indeed.

The old cultivator from the Heavenly Secret Merchant Guild said that this small bell artifact is a top-tier spiritual artifact among low-grade ones, indicating its extraordinary quality. Lu Ye wasn't sure how spiritual artifacts were categorized in terms of quality, but a quick comparison revealed that this small bell contained more than one restriction. His own long saber was barely considered a spiritual artifact, yet it only had a single restriction. That restriction's purpose seemed to be reinforcing the blade, making the saber less prone to damage during combat.

The restriction within the saber was actually a spirit pattern. When the saber was forged, this spirit pattern was miraculously etched into its blade. When Lu Ye faced an enemy, he only needed to channel spiritual power into the saber to activate the spirit pattern; he didn't need to painstakingly construct it himself. This principle was somewhat similar to him using a Sharpness Spirit Pattern to enhance his saber, but the difference was that Sharpness was a temporary enhancement, while the spirit pattern for reinforcing the blade was permanent, only requiring Lu Ye's spiritual power to activate.

The small bell artifact contained more than one spirit pattern. Lu Ye could feel this as his spiritual power permeated it. These spirit patterns were combined through a mysterious method, forming what was known as a restriction. In Lu Ye's understanding, spirit patterns were the foundation for restrictions. Each spirit pattern could be seen as a restriction, but different spirit patterns seemed to have magical ways of combining to produce more intricate effects.

His time immersed in cultivation was still short, and the spirit patterns he had acquired were all from the Talent Tree, so his understanding of these concepts wasn't comprehensive. He wasn't sure if his interpretations were correct. These things would have to be studied gradually later. For now, he only needed to slowly channel his spiritual power into the restrictions within the small bell, nourishing it while removing the previous owner's imprint. Once that was done, the artifact would be his to use.

During the day, he searched for Amber and Yiyi, and at night, he focused diligently on cultivation. Time flew by, and seven or eight days passed without any clues for Lu Ye. He thought that Amber had chased after Yiyi to the waterfall, likely at Yiyi's command. If so, they must have known he had jumped. If they still wanted to find him, they would surely search downstream. However, Amber was severely injured and would likely hide somewhere to recover. Yet, Lu Ye had searched within a hundred-mile radius of the area over the past few days and found no valuable clues. For a moment, he didn't know where else to look.

Another two days went by, still with no discoveries. Lu Ye felt a pang of sadness. Although his time with Yiyi and Amber hadn't been long, their companionship had been very pleasant. Riding Amber, in particular, saved him a lot of energy, allowing him to even cultivate while traveling, which helped him immensely. If not for Amber when he was being pursued by Dong Shuye, he would have been caught long ago. It wasn't an exaggeration to say Amber saved his life. Therefore, no matter what, he wanted to find these two companions. Since the journey started together, it should end together. Lu Ye didn't want to abandon companions he could trust with his life halfway through.

Under the cover of night, Lu Ye swung his saber, sweating profusely, while pondering which direction to search tomorrow. He had a detailed map, so he knew exactly where he had searched and where he hadn't. Just as he was planning, a beast roar echoed from deep within the forest. Lu Ye's saber swing suddenly halted, and he tilted his head, listening intently. A moment later, another beast roar came, and the sound was incredibly familiar. It was Amber!

Lu Ye quickly sheathed his saber and sprinted in the direction of the sound, startling countless birds along the way. The tiger roars grew more frequent. Amber seemed to be fighting an enemy, and as he drew closer, Lu Ye vaguely felt spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from that direction. It was a cultivator fighting Amber! Lu Ye's heart sank. He couldn't quite understand what was happening. Although Amber wasn't exceptionally strong, with Yiyi assisting, low-level cultivators wouldn't dare provoke it. Back in Qingyun Mountain, Lu Ye had personally witnessed how Yiyi and Amber cooperated to intimidate those low-level cultivators. To low-level cultivators, a demonic beast that could speak human language was simply not something they could afford to offend. But now, there were cultivators attacking Amber. Were their cultivation levels very high?

Thinking of this, Lu Ye's urgency grew. If he still had Gale Spirit Charms, he would have immediately pulled one out and slapped it on his leg. Halfway there, the tiger roars suddenly ceased, and the commotion from the battle stopped. This made Lu Ye anxious, unsure of the situation.

After cresting a hill, Lu Ye stopped, trying to calm his breathing. Then he took out a Concealment Talisman from his storage bag and slapped it onto himself. Instantly, all his aura was masked. He had never used a Concealment Talisman before and didn't know how long it would last, but he estimated it wouldn't be very long. So, after concealing his aura, he immediately moved, stealthily creeping forward.

Moments later, at the edge of a chaotic battlefield, Lu Ye quietly appeared under the cover of night. With a glance, he saw the entirely white Amber. In the moonlight, Amber swayed unsteadily like it was drunk, its bulky body staggering, constantly shaking its head. A threatening growl rumbled in its throat, but the sound was off, as if something was caught in its neck, making its growl hoarse. Indeed, something was caught around its neck: a collar-like object emitting a faint spiritual glow, which was a spiritual artifact.

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly surveyed his surroundings. There were five cultivators in total, four men and one woman, each about ten zhang apart, forming a circle around Amber. Lu Ye quietly channeled spiritual energy into his eyes to observe the five people's spiritual light. He quickly determined their cultivation levels: one fifth-stage, one fourth-stage, and three third-stage. The woman was the fourth-stage cultivator, and she was currently forming hand seals, spiritual power surging through her body.

The fifth-stage cultivator, a young man in black, suddenly spoke, "Loosen the beast-taming collar a bit, don't strangle it to death. It'll be useless if it dies."

"Got it!" the woman replied, changing her hand seals. The collar around Amber's neck immediately glowed and loosened slightly. Heavy gasps of breath came. Amber suddenly leaped, pouncing on the nearest third-stage cultivator. However, mid-air, the collar around its neck glowed again, and Amber fell to the ground as if losing control. The beast-taming collar clearly had a strong suppressive effect on Amber.

"This beast isn't strong, but it has quite a temper," the third-stage cultivator chuckled at the sight.

The woman snorted, "It's not strong, yet the three of you were so scared you obediently handed over your storage bags?"

The third-stage cultivator who had spoken earlier said, annoyed, "Sister Yu, don't tease us. Who knew such a demonic beast would have a companion phantom spirit? Those two working together are very scary!"

Another third-stage cultivator nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, Brother Xiong almost wet himself back then."

"Nonsense!" The last third-stage cultivator retorted, "I did not."

Sister Yu chuckled, "Brother Zhou truly has sharp eyes. After hearing about this, he realized something was off. Otherwise, we might have really missed such an exotic beast. To have a companion phantom spirit at such a low cultivation level, who knows what it could grow into if properly nurtured."