Chapter 138: Crazy Uncle Dong Ye

Wind Rises Across the Nine Provinces

Four minor circulations surged within his body, spiritual power surging through his spiritual apertures, as the distance between them closed little by little!

Ten zhang, nine zhang, eight zhang...

He was repelled, then charged forward again.

Lu Ye's lips bled, and his chest felt tight. He had originally thought it best to get as close to Dong Shuye as possible, but when he actually tried, he realized he had been somewhat naive.

The closer he got, the harder it was to dodge the opponent's spells. Beyond ten zhang, Lu Ye's current eyesight allowed him to track the flight paths of those spells, but within ten zhang, doing so became very difficult.

If not for his frequent use of the Guarding Spirit Pattern, he would have been unable to sustain himself long ago.

Eight zhang was the limit; it was barely enough!

When he once again advanced to within eight zhang of Dong Shuye, he roared, "Amber!"

"Roar!" Amber, who had already vanished into the rain before the battle began, suddenly let out a roar from behind Dong Shuye.

Dong Shuye had long been wary of Amber, so as soon as the tiger's roar sounded, he turned his head and unleashed a Golden Arc Slash in that direction. The golden crescent-shaped slash cut through the rain, but there was no reaction of hitting anything solid. Amber was clever; after making a disturbance, it immediately left its position.

Dong Shuye didn't entangle himself; he probably understood Lu Ye's intention. The opponent likely wanted his beast companion to seize the young master, thereby threatening him.

Such a childish trick could never succeed. If that large tiger dared approach within ten zhang of him, he could kill it in an instant! A mere beast wouldn't know how to activate spiritual patterns to defend itself. Furthermore, the young master stood only three zhang behind him; he was fully capable of protecting him while dealing with Lu Ye.

So, after forcing Amber back, he immediately turned to face Lu Ye. However, before he could activate a spell, a spiritual power fluctuation attacked from above.

He looked up, and a large bell, shimmering with spiritual light, crashed down. The light before his eyes was quickly obscured.

It was the Mysterious Spirit Bell!

As the Nine Star Sect's young master's protective spiritual artifact, how could he not recognize it? When the Mysterious Spirit Bell fell, he tried to dodge, but he had already missed the best timing. The light before his eyes was obscured, and he was completely encased!

His face darkened, knowing he had been too careless. He finally understood why Lu Yiye had continuously approached him despite his attacks. Lu Ye wasn't trying to attack him, but simply wanted to close the distance, because if the distance were too great, the Mysterious Spirit Bell might not have been able to trap him.

A moment of carelessness had trapped him within the Mysterious Spirit Bell. However, this spiritual artifact was primarily for protection, and while it could trap enemies, its effect wasn't significant. When it came to understanding the Mysterious Spirit Bell, Dong Shuye surpassed Lu Ye.

Just as he was about to cast a spell to break free from the bell's confines, the Mysterious Spirit Bell unexpectedly flew up again.

Following the direction the Mysterious Spirit Bell flew back to, Dong Shuye looked up, his face grim.

Over there, Lu Ye had already grabbed the young master's neck with one hand. A long blade was pressed against his throat, and he himself was crouched behind the young master, with only one eye visible, glaring fiercely at Dong Shuye.

Kill Dong Shuye, who was two or three realms higher? Lu Ye had never considered such a thing. Although he had killed some Fifth-Layer cultivators, Dong Shuye was far more powerful. Their previous skirmish had confirmed this; Lu Ye couldn't even get within eight zhang of Dong Shuye.

If he couldn't even get close, how could he kill him? Rely on his Fat Bird spell, which would make his enemies die laughing? This weather wasn't suitable for fire-elemental spells either.

From beginning to end, Lu Ye's target was clear: the mortal young master Dong Shuye had brought!

He didn't know the young master's exact identity, but judging by the way he addressed Dong Shuye earlier, he clearly had significant backing. To escape, he had to capture this person and use him as leverage.

Amber's cooperation with him was flawless; this was undoubtedly Yiyi's doing. Although they hadn't discussed a plan beforehand, Yiyi understood Lu Ye's intentions as soon as the battle began.

That tiger's roar created an opportunity for Lu Ye to deploy the Mysterious Spirit Bell.

Their gazes met. Lu Ye saw the fury in Dong Shuye's eyes, and Dong Shuye saw the ruthlessness in Lu Ye's.

The young master was already shivering and his nose was running from the cold. Now, with a blade pressed against his throat, he immediately became flustered. "You fight your fight, why are you involving me?!" he exclaimed.

He had always lacked proper reverence for cultivators. Because with the power of his family behind him, in the outer regions of this battlefield, as long as he didn't go too far, he could do as he pleased. Even beautiful female cultivators were his playthings.

He had come to believe that cultivators were nothing special.

But soon, he realized the seriousness of the situation, as a chill and pain spread from his neck. He started to panic. "Old Dong, save me!"

Dong Shuye only stared at Lu Ye, the flames of rage in his eyes growing more intense.

"Tell him to scram, or you die!" Lu Ye said in a low voice from behind the young master.

"Brother, calm down, you're hurting me."

"Tell him to scram!"

"Alright, alright, Old Dong, quick, go away!"

Dong Shuye spoke, "If I leave, you will surely die!"

The young master suddenly realized, "Oh, right..."

"If he doesn't leave, you die now. If he leaves, I won't trouble you!"

"You promise?"

"Less talk!"

The pain in his neck intensified. The young master felt warm liquid trickling down his neck. Without further hesitation, he cried, "Old Dong, just go! I'll be safe once you're gone!"

Dong Shuye stared at Lu Ye, his face filled with unwillingness. Remembering his recent misfortunes, his expression became twisted and fierce, and his killing intent burned intensely. Yet, in the end, he forced himself to suppress it, saying in a deep voice, "Swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao! Without such an oath, you won't escape today!"

Lu Ye met his gaze for a moment, then spoke, "I respectfully ask the Heavenly Dao to witness: If Dong Shuye no longer troubles me, I will spare this mortal and grant him freedom three days from now!"

In the ethereal realm, the Heavenly Dao descended.

Though Dong Shuye's mind was hard to settle, this was the best possible outcome for now. He gave Lu Ye a deep look. "Remember what you said," he stated.

He took a step and walked into the rain.

One step, two steps, three steps...

He stopped, looked up at the sky, letting the rain fall on his face, and suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh. "How pathetic!"

Two months ago, with his Seventh-Layer cultivation, he pursued a Third-Layer cultivator. A moment of carelessness prevented him from achieving full success. Two months later, a Sixth-Layer cultivator came to kill a Fourth-Layer cultivator, yet still failed.

His spiritual apertures were broken, his cultivation fell, and his future was bleak. For this, he even betrayed his sect. After much difficulty, he finally found a place to rely on, only to become the guard of a mere mortal.

The opponent's cultivation had risen too quickly. If he missed this chance, would there be another? He had fallen to this state entirely because of this person. How could such a deep-seated hatred go unavenged!

Spiritual power began to surge. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed towards Lu Ye, and a Golden Arc Slash tore through the air and attacked.

Almost the instant he stopped, Lu Ye sensed something was wrong. The moment the Golden Arc Slash struck, he lifted the young master in front of him and charged forward, covering several zhang in a few steps. With his other hand, he instantly deployed the Mysterious Spirit Bell he had been holding.

The sharp slash split the young master in half, blood splattering everywhere. It then struck the Guarding Spirit Pattern on Lu Ye's chest; the spirit pattern shattered, and Lu Ye was sent tumbling backwards.

The Mysterious Spirit Bell descended, once again trapping Dong Shuye inside. But the next moment, violent sounds erupted from within the bell, and the spiritual light on the bell's surface began to flicker.

"Roar!" Amber burst out from the rain, charging directly to Lu Ye's side. Lu Ye flipped onto the tiger's back, simultaneously slapping a Wind-Soaring Spirit Talisman onto Amber.

"Hurry, go!"

Damn it, Dong Shuye was insane!

He didn't know who that young master was, but the fact that he could boss Dong Shuye around and yell at him clearly indicated a significant background. Dong Shuye had clearly reached an agreement with him earlier, but in a blink of an eye, he had gone back on his word. To kill him, he even sacrificed the life of that mortal young master!

Lu Ye felt Dong Shuye's determination to kill him. At this moment, his spiritual power was greatly depleted, his internal organs were injured, and he was utterly unable to fight Dong Shuye again. He could only flee, not even daring to retrieve the Mysterious Spirit Bell.

Just over ten breaths after Amber carried him away, the Mysterious Spirit Bell suddenly burst apart. Dong Shuye appeared, brimming with killing intent. Although he looked a bit disheveled, he had finally escaped.

He took a quick look, then identified the direction Lu Ye had fled, and soared into the air in pursuit. This time, without the young master, his speed was noticeably faster.

The rain curtain thinned. An hour later, the rain stopped, and a rainbow hung like a bridge in the sky. Several cultivators arrived at the previous battlefield, where they discovered three gruesome corpses and traces of a struggle.

Recognizing the identity of one of the deceased, the cultivators felt their scalps tingle. Their own young master was dead; the sky had fallen...

Soon after, the news spread. The young master's family immediately issued a warrant for Dong Shuye's arrest. However, at this very moment, Dong Shuye had already chased Lu Ye an unknown distance away.

Night fell. Amber carried Lu Ye into a chaotic stone forest. Here, thick stone pillars stood tall, each over twenty zhang high, forming an uncountable, dense array.

Amber was exhausted from running, and all three Wind-Soaring Talismans were used up. Fortunately, an hour ago, Dong Shuye had stopped his pursuit. Lu Ye estimated that Dong Shuye's spiritual power was also nearly depleted.

After all, chasing for such a long time, even if Dong Shuye's cultivation was higher than his, he couldn't sustain it.

On the contrary, Lu Ye's spiritual power was not only not depleted, but he had fully replenished it while Amber was fleeing.

Although Lu Ye knew Dong Shuye wouldn't give up and it was best to run as far as possible now, Amber was truly unable to run any further. While the Wind-Soaring Talismans made it run faster, they also increased its exhaustion.

He didn't need rest, but Amber did.

There were natural shelters under the stone pillars. Yiyi found a relatively hidden spot. Amber ran over and immediately lay down on the ground, its chest and abdomen heaving continuously, and its tongue hung out, like a dog completely exhausted.

Yiyi watched with a pained heart, while gritting her teeth and cursing Dong Shuye for his unprincipled actions, and feeding Amber water and food.

Lu Ye checked his own injuries nearby. There were no obvious external wounds, only some internal injuries from the impacts during his fight with Dong Shuye, which weren't serious; taking one healing pill would suffice.

Judging from Dong Shuye's actions during the day, he would absolutely not give up the pursuit. He couldn't keep fleeing like this indefinitely. However, a Fourth-Layer cultivation was still barely enough against him.

If he could reach Fifth-Layer cultivation, Lu Ye felt he could contend with Dong Shuye!