Chapter 1051: Million Battle Achievements

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

Only after plummeting tens of thousands of feet did Lu Ye barely regain control of himself. This altitude was the absolute limit for his aerial flight. Any higher, no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't ascend, as if an invisible constraint held him captive.

However, Lu Ye continued to let himself fall, merely using his spiritual energy to protect himself. Although he could fly at this altitude, it was too strenuous and consumed too much of his spiritual energy. He needed to find a height that was both comfortable and energy-efficient. This is why cultivators traveling in the wilderness don't necessarily fly as high as they possibly can; the higher one flies, the greater the energy consumption. Especially when their cultivation is insufficient, they generally avoid flying too high, as they might easily encounter stronger individuals.

After plummeting to nearly ten thousand feet, Lu Ye finally stabilized himself. This altitude was undoubtedly acceptable to him, and it was also the height most Spirit Sea realm cultivators chose for wilderness travel. He looked down at the scene below, his heart surging with emotion.

Kyushu, I'm back!

This journey had been quite long, a full two years. When he departed, he was at the seventh stage of the True Lake realm; now, he had returned as a Spirit Sea realm cultivator, marking a significant increase in his strength. Of course, his cultivation would have progressed even faster had he remained in Kyushu, where he could utilize spiritual talismans. However, in matters of cultivation, rapid advancement alone is not enough. During his two years in the Blood Refinement Realm, while his cultivation didn't progress exceptionally fast, each stage became incredibly solid. Particularly in the months after reaching the Spirit Sea realm, he underwent rigorous tempering by dozens of senior cultivators, achieving gains far beyond what mere cultivation improvement could offer.

Lu Ye felt a touch of regret that Dao Thirteen hadn't returned with him. It wasn't that he wished to abandon him, but rather that he had no control over teleportation; Kyushu's Heavenly Mechanism governed such matters, and if it didn't send Dao Thirteen back, there was nothing he could do.

He would return to the Blood Refinement Realm! The words he had spoken to his Senior Brother before leaving were not just casual remarks. The Jade Blood Sacred Land had endured this Blood Clan encirclement, which had torn open a breach in the defense line of the outer islands. Furthermore, the Sacred Land had suffered significant casualties this time. The next time the Blood Clan returned, the Jade Blood Sacred Land might not be able to hold them off. He needed to find a way to return before the next Blood Clan siege on the Jade Blood Sacred Land, to lend his Senior Brother and the others a hand. If he could bring a group of helpers, that would be even better.

Naturally, achieving this wouldn't be easy, but since Kyushu's Heavenly Mechanism could transport him there once, it could surely do so again. Lu Ye believed that the Heavenly Mechanism wouldn't stand idly by while the Jade Blood Sacred Land was in peril. Otherwise, there would have been no need to send him there in the first place. The Heavenly Mechanism's intention in sending him this time was clear: to use his abilities to help the Jade Blood Sacred Land resist the Blood Clan army, which he had, albeit barely, accomplished. Both his control of the Blood Clan Dao Soldiers and his use of the "Connected Spirits Array Plate" had made tremendous contributions to the recent great battle.

He couldn't remain in the Jade Blood Sacred Land and simply wait, as he needed to find a way to rapidly enhance his strength. Therefore, he had to return to Kyushu. Before the next Blood Clan invasion, he aimed to strengthen himself as much as possible, find a way to return, and bring along a group of trustworthy allies. There was still some time for careful planning.

For now, he set those thoughts aside. Having returned to Kyushu, his immediate priority was to ascertain his current location. Lu Ye quickly retrieved his map to check, and the result astonished him: he was in Liyuan, near the entrance to the Sword Artifact Sect's secret realm. What a coincidence. There was no need to search for the Sword Artifact Sect's secret realm; its foundation was destroyed, the realm had collapsed, and it had ceased to exist long ago.

Just as Lu Ye was contemplating how to return to Haotian City, his battle imprint warmed slightly. Lu Ye hadn't felt any activity from his battle imprint for two years, so he quickly focused his mind to investigate.

Name: Lu Yiye.Identity: Jade Blood Sect Disciple, Commander of the Enforcement Hall, Law Enforcement Department.Cultivation: Spirit Sea, First Stage.Location: Liyuan.Merit Points: 972,812.Battle Merits: 1,000,000.

There were considerable changes to his battle imprint, starting with his identity. He recalled his previous identity, after 'Jade Blood Sect Disciple,' was Captain Ding Jiu of the Enforcement Hall, Law Enforcement Department. Now, it had changed to Commander of the Enforcement Hall. Had his captain position been revoked? It made sense. After two years of no news, Team Ding Jiu would naturally need someone in charge. They couldn't keep waiting for him; replacing the captain was entirely reasonable. Among Team Ding Jiu, Third Senior Brother Xiao Xinghe was the strongest, so he had likely taken over the captain's position if nothing unexpected occurred.

There wasn't much change in his merit points. Lu Ye had previously returned to the sect during a mission, selling a large quantity of resources to the Heavenly Mechanism Treasury and accumulating nearly a million merit points. After that, he hadn't used them much, or rather, hadn't had the opportunity to. The change in his battle merits, however, was substantial. He couldn't recall the exact number of battle merits he had before, but he generally knew it was over 200,000. Yet, now he had a full million battle merits, breaking a new record.

A million battle merits couldn't have appeared out of thin air; this was clearly the Heavenly Mechanism's reward for his journey to the Blood Refinement Realm. While it seemed like a large sum at first glance, it wasn't that much when considering the details. This was because it represented Lu Ye's accumulated gains over two full years. Furthermore, during the encirclement by the Blood Clan army, Lu Ye's Blood Clan Dao Soldiers and the 'Connected Spirits Array Plate' he provided had all made immense contributions. Moreover, he had personally slain many Blood Clan members, including several Spirit Sea realm cultivators. Of course, the Heavenly Mechanism had no way to precisely tally these merits, as it was unaware of the specific circumstances of the battle. Perhaps this was why the battle merits awarded this time were a round number. Nevertheless, Lu Ye was satisfied; something was better than nothing, especially such a massive amount of battle merits.

Just as he was examining his battle imprint, it stirred slightly once more. This time, it was a message coming through. He had only just returned to Kyushu, and already someone was sending a message. Without a doubt, it had to be Yiyi. Only Yiyi could react so swiftly. It wasn't that he and Yiyi shared a telepathic connection; rather, he had a pet contract with Amber and had also established the Life Essence Art and Beast Imprint Method. As Lu Ye's bonded spirit beast, Amber would undoubtedly sense his return instantly. Since Amber and Yiyi were always inseparable, if Amber knew, Yiyi would naturally know as well.

Upon checking the message, it was indeed from Yiyi.

"Lu Ye, you're back! Where are you?"

As Lu Ye plunged downwards, he replied, "Here in Ten Thousand Demon Ridge."

"How are you there? Where have you been for the past two years?" Although Lu Ye's status could be determined via his battle imprint, two years of complete silence, with his imprint constantly showing as uncontactable, inevitably caused concern.

"It's a bit complicated; I'll explain in detail later. Is everyone else alright?"

"Everyone's fine, it's just that a lot has happened in the past two years. Since you just returned, you must be careful; Kyushu is now teeming with insectoids."

Lu Ye had no time to reply, for he had already seen the insectoids: a large swarm of mosquito-like creatures were flying towards him. The alarming part was that each of these mosquitoes looked fierce and were unusually large, almost palm-sized. Individually, their power was negligible, faintly radiating only Spirit Stream realm aura. However, the fierce might emanating from the coalesced swarm of insectoids had remarkably reached the Spirit Sea realm level. In terms of sheer numbers, there were likely tens of thousands.

Lu Ye had never encountered such insectoids before, but they possessed a characteristic: extreme sensitivity to spiritual energy fluctuations. Clearly, the traces of his activated spiritual energy had attracted this swarm. To deal with creatures that were individually weak but incredibly powerful when amassed, a warrior cultivator's options were very limited. It could be said that such insectoids possessed a potent restraining power over ordinary warrior cultivators. A warrior cultivator's strength lay in one-on-one combat. Even if Lu Ye could eradicate dozens or hundreds of these insectoids with a single slash, once enveloped by such a swarm, how many slashes could he truly make? Fortunately, he was no ordinary warrior cultivator.

At this moment, he had not yet grasped the terrifying nature of the information Yiyi had sent; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have had any thoughts about engaging this swarm of insectoids. As he raised his hand and made a grasping motion, spiritual energy surged in his palm. The Yin and Yang elements swiftly outlined and interlocked, and in the blink of an eye, an oval-shaped object, a condensed mass of spiritual energy, formed in his palm. At first glance, it resembled an egg, its surface ablaze with roaring flames.

As Lu Ye activated his spiritual energy, the flame egg cracked open. A clear, resonant cry echoed as a fire phoenix with a thirty-zhang wingspan burst forth, flapping its wings and soaring towards the insect swarm. To deal with such an insect swarm, a magic cultivator's methods were the most suitable. Previously, when his strength was insufficient, Lu Ye had to use his own body as a foundation to construct the Fire Phoenix spiritual pattern. But now that he had reached the Spirit Sea realm, it was no longer so troublesome.

The massive fire phoenix crashed into the insect swarm. Lu Ye had initially believed it would completely incinerate the entire swarm, but a surprising scene unfolded. A large number of insectoids perished, and as they did, the fire phoenix's form rapidly shrank. Upon closer inspection, he understood: before dying, those mosquito-like insectoids were desperately devouring the spiritual energy within the fire phoenix, thereby weakening its power. The fire phoenix dissipated, and approximately sixty percent of the insect swarm remained.

Lu Ye was about to strike again when a buzzing sound suddenly emanated from below. He looked down, and his scalp tingled. From below, countless insectoids were rising densely, all gathering towards him, clearly drawn by the previous spiritual energy fluctuations. The sheer number was simply unbelievable. Furthermore, as they flew, these insectoids continuously converged, causing the swarm to grow larger and its might to rapidly increase. His vision was consumed by blackness; the ground was no longer visible.

Lu Ye no longer harbored any desire to strike. In this situation, retreat was the only sensible choice! Spotting a direction, Lu Ye transformed into a long rainbow and soared away, with the insect swarm in close pursuit. Fortunately, the insect swarm's speed wasn't particularly fast. After flying for some time, Lu Ye finally managed to shake them off. A moment later, he found a secluded spot, descended, and concealed his aura.