Chapter 1264: Reciprocity

Fantasy Novel

While fleeing, Yu Yaorao caught sight of Lu Ye and briefly considered asking for his help, but she quickly abandoned the idea.

Firstly, there was no deep relationship between her and Lu Ye. Having fallen into trouble, she had no standing to ask him for assistance. Secondly, even if she swallowed her pride and asked, it was uncertain whether he would be willing to help. Furthermore, even if Lu Ye agreed to assist her, it was questionable whether they could overcome the two pursuers.

She knew Lu Ye was strong; in fact, before the treasure gourd matured, she had considered recruiting him. However, in the Divine Sea Realm, who among the survivors could still be considered weak? Heavily injured herself, her combat effectiveness was extremely limited. Insisting on dragging Lu Ye into this conflict would only cause him trouble. Therefore, after a brief consideration, she changed direction and continued her escape.

Yu Yaorao could sense that one of the two pursuers behind her had diverted to confront Lu Ye. She couldn't help but feel a pang of apology, knowing that although it wasn't her intention, she had ultimately drawn him into the conflict.

Just as she was considering whether to turn back and join forces with Lu Ye for a desperate fight, an extremely violent surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted behind her, followed immediately by a sharp scream.

Yu Yaorao was startled. She was all too familiar with such a short, sharp cry; it was usually the sound a cultivator made right before death.

As expected, along with the scream, there was a distinct sensation of a life force being extinguished.

Who was it?

Looking at the unconscious Yu Yaorao, Lu Ye’s brow furrowed; he found the situation quite troublesome.

This situation was, in fact, a microcosm of the current Divine Sea Realm. At this stage, even the prodigies from the top realms dared not guarantee they would be the last ones standing.

Lu Ye asked, "Sister, what are your plans next?"

Before she even touched the ground, Lu Ye had already swept over, wrapping her in his spiritual energy. A quick scan with his divine sense revealed her severe injuries. He wondered what she had encountered and where her two companions had gone.

But the commotion that immediately followed behind her made her unable to suppress her curiosity. She quickly turned her head back, and what she saw froze her on the spot!

Her clothes were intact, with no signs of having been disturbed, and there were no abnormalities anywhere on her body. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, secretly scolding herself for misjudging. However, as a woman, especially one of her beauty, performing such a self-check immediately upon waking from unconsciousness was perfectly understandable.

That series of movements made her keenly feel her internal injuries, and her face turned pale. She coughed lightly before speaking, "Thank you very much, Junior Brother Lu, for what happened earlier. If it weren't for your intervention and rescue, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived. I will forever be grateful for saving my life."

In his opinion, the best option for Yu Yaorao now was to withdraw from the Divine Sea Realm. Her injuries would take some time to recover, and during this period, she would be unable to exert her full strength. As the active area within the Divine Sea Realm continued to shrink, once she encountered an enemy, her current state would leave her largely defenseless.

Regretting these things now was meaningless. With such an outcome, it could only be attributed to ill fortune.

The pursuer behind her was calmly clashing with someone; their spiritual weapons collided, emitting clanging sounds and sparks.

Lu Ye knew nothing about the path of medical cultivation, so he naturally couldn't provide much in the way of advanced healing. At best, he could only feed her a few healing pills.

Her nervous and anxious feelings eased slightly. She knew she had weathered this ordeal.

Then she saw Lu Ye, sitting cross-legged not far away, appearing to be lost in thought.

Recalling it now, Yu Yaorao felt a pang of regret and deep pity. Back then, at the Fortune Vine, she had indeed intended to recruit Lu Ye, but the Grand Beginning Realm had interfered.

In her current state, if left unattended, she would surely meet a terrible end if discovered, especially since she was so alluring and enchanting. Should she encounter anyone with malicious intent, she might suffer torments worse than death.

A cultivator at the fourth stage of the Divine Sea Realm possessing such power? What would he be like if he advanced to the fifth stage? Yu Yaorao could barely imagine. Having followed Grand Beginning Realm for some time, she had felt she had witnessed the true strength of prodigies from top-tier realms. Yet, only at this moment did she realize that her previous understanding was far from accurate; in this world, there is always someone greater.

Especially those who were still alive at this point—they were truly the elite of the elite, having survived the rigorous sifting process. Every single cultivator was formidable.

Yu Yaorao had always known his strength was considerable, but she had never imagined it would reach such a terrifying level. Even the Grand Beginning Realm paled significantly in comparison to him.

The breath she had been holding in her heart finally dissipated, and she could no longer hold on. Her vision went white, and she plummeted directly downwards from mid-air.

Falling alongside her was also the body of the second pursuer, though Yu Yaorao, unfortunately, couldn't witness it.

In her desperate flight, Yu Yaorao didn't even have the leisure to look back, for any backward glance would inevitably slow down her escape.

However, carrying an unconscious person within this dangerous environment made movement rather inconvenient.

"It's not the same," Yu Yaorao shook her head. "I have no great favor to you, merely having answered a few of your questions. But you have truly saved my life. In that situation, had you not intervened, I would surely have perished. While you might not care for such things, I must. It's a matter of principle to remember a kindness. As for how to repay... I'm still unsure. I certainly cannot offer myself here; that would be demeaning to both myself and you."

Seeing his demeanor, Yu Yaorao's heart eased. She gently checked her own condition and found that although her injuries were still severe, they were in the process of healing. The lingering taste of healing pills in her mouth suggested she had been fed them while unconscious.

Looking back now, if they had successfully recruited Lu Ye at that time, given the strength he had previously displayed, their seven-person team surely wouldn't have ended up so fractured, with members dead or injured.

Lu Ye waved his hand, "Sister Yu, you exaggerate. I too have received much kindness from you before, Junior Brother. Let's just consider it a mutual exchange of favors."

This was a sheer pummeling, akin to an adult overpowering a child. Though both were combat cultivators, the pursuer's strength, speed, explosive power, and combat experience were all vastly inferior to Lu Ye's. This comprehensive disparity was the root cause of his complete disadvantage.

When she opened her eyes, she was clearly disoriented, but quickly recalled everything from before she fainted. She promptly got up, focusing her mind and surveying her surroundings with extreme vigilance. Though not yet fully recovered, she was poised and alert.

Lu Ye held the absolute advantage! His figure darted and weaved, and under his relentless slashes, the pursuer, also a combat cultivator, could only parry against his tempest-like attacks.

Yu Yaorao's eyes dimmed slightly, and she sighed, "Fellow Daoist Ding died in battle. Fellow Daoist Zhao and I were separated, and I don't know where he is or if he's still alive."

That fellow, who had been so arrogant and overbearing when he pursued her with another person, now looked equally pathetic and miserable.

She quickly halted, staring blankly, her eyes rapidly filling with disbelief. She was horrified to realize that the seemingly intense battle was, in fact, completely one-sided. The two combatants weren't so much engaging in a struggle as one was being utterly suppressed by the other, with no ability to retaliate.

After a brief thought, he decided he could only temporarily carry her until she regained consciousness.

This guy... he's *that* strong?

And the one clashing with this pursuer was, surprisingly, not Guo Quanxi from the Four Heavens Realm. As for the other pursuer, who had gone to deal with Zhao Yunliu, he was already nowhere to be seen.

During the fierce battle, Ding You was slain, and she was separated from the Grand Beginning Realm. Afterward, she was relentlessly pursued, left with nowhere to turn, until she encountered Lu Ye.

After speaking a few words, Yu Yaorao gasped for breath, clearly extremely weak.

While the rewards for victory were undeniably desirable, coveted by every Divine Sea Realm cultivator, life was ultimately more important. As the saying goes, "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be wood to burn."

Yu Yaorao remained unconscious for several days before slowly stirring awake.

Yu Yaorao couldn't help but be lost in thought. She had participated in the Divine Sea Realm competition for over two months, witnessed many clashes between prodigies from various realms, and engaged in combat herself. Yet, generally speaking, even when one side held an advantage in such fights, the gap was rarely immense; it was very uncommon for one party to possess a crushing superiority.

Connecting this to the previous scream and the extinguished life force, how could Yu Yaorao not know the fate of that pursuer?

Thus, when she clearly perceived the situation on the battlefield, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

Yu Yaorao's injuries were far more severe than Lu Ye had initially imagined. Prior to this, she must have endured several minor battles, leading to a depletion of her vital energy, which in turn made her recovery exceptionally slow.

"Where are your two companions?" Lu Ye asked.

Even though their eight-person team was formidable, and Grand Beginning Realm was a prodigy from a top-tier realm, they still found it difficult to move forward within the Divine Sea Realm. Earlier, their group of eight had encountered another team. Unfortunately, the leader of that team hailed from a realm that had significant grievances with the Hegemon Star, so their confrontation naturally escalated into a fierce struggle.

She wanted to say more, but Lu Ye didn't wish to dwell on the matter. To him, it had truly been a simple effort, and incidentally, he had gained two kills.

Noticing the movement, Lu Ye slowly turned his head, glanced at her, nodded slightly, and remained silent, continuing to be lost in thought.

Leaving her unattended wouldn't be appropriate. After all, she wasn't a complete stranger; whether in the Goblin Tree Realm or previously at the Fortune Vine, Yu Yaorao had clarified many of his doubts. This was a favor, and having received one, he naturally had to find a way to repay it.

But in that situation, Grand Beginning Realm had his own considerations. As a member of the same team, Yu Yaorao naturally found it difficult to go against him.

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