Chapter 1416: My Precious and Rare Companion

Chu Shen's cultivation level wasn't high, but with his methods, he wouldn't be without resistance even against stronger opponents. However, he was currently being ganged up on, making his situation appear quite dire.

"Hold on!" Lu Ye quickly messaged back.

"I am holding on, they can't run as fast as I can... Oh no, someone's blocking me ahead!"

Lu Ye stopped messaging and looked up. He needed to find Chu Shen's location quickly; he couldn't let such a natural ally get into trouble. But looking out, there were more than a dozen battlefields across the huge star ring, spiritual power surging and colorful lights bursting forth, raging intensely. From a distance, he couldn't clearly see which battlefield Chu Shen was in.

His figure continuously pressed forward.

From afar, this star ring looked like a giant star encased in an outer shell. But in reality, it was an asteroid belt. Unlike the asteroid belts Lu Ye had encountered before, this one was a band of countless large and small asteroids orbiting a star in a fixed pattern, revolving ceaselessly, cycle after cycle.

Lu Ye didn't enter the star ring but swiftly moved along its exterior. Finally, he sensed Chu Shen's aura from a distance and witnessed Chu Shen's difficult predicament. Chu Shen was in a disheveled state, protected by a spirit artifact, while four figures surrounded him. Their various techniques had dimmed the spirit artifact's light to an extreme.

Among the four, three attacked relentlessly, while one woman stood still, seemingly reluctant. Lu Ye faintly heard her advising Chu Shen, "Hurry and leave! If this spirit artifact's power vanishes, you'll be beaten to death, and it'll be a very ugly death!"

Chu Shen continued to channel his spiritual power, persisting, while shouting, "My Big Brother Fa Wuzun is coming soon! If you know what's good for you, stop immediately, or when he arrives, none of you will escape!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said that. As soon as he did, the three attacking cultivators intensified their assault. They were all Star Realm cultivators; who would be so easily threatened?

Just then, the hum of a saber resonated through the void. The sound was still far away, undoubtedly a warning. Chu Shen turned his head and was instantly overjoyed: "My Big Brother is here! You're finished!"

"Quickly finish him!" one late-stage Star Realm cultivator among the three attacking Chu Shen growled. Although he wasn't swayed by Chu Shen's words, at this moment, it was logical to quickly eliminate one opponent to have more energy to deal with the second. A single early-stage Star Realm cultivator had made them waste so much time. The arriving mid-stage Star Realm cultivator was likely formidable. If it truly was Fa Wuzun from the Merit Board, that would be a powerful enemy!

As the late-stage Star Realm cultivator gave the order, the already precarious protection around Chu Shen's body finally reached the breaking point. He looked in the direction Lu Ye was coming from, filled with unwillingness, and roared, "Senior, avenge me!" With that, he voluntarily withdrew from the area.

He had no choice but to retreat. Lu Ye would still take at least five breaths to reach the battlefield, but Chu Shen couldn't hold on for even three breaths. Once his protection broke, his life would truly be in danger. He was utterly unwilling, having been so close!

As Chu Shen's figure disappeared, the three attackers simultaneously turned and, led by the late-stage Star Realm cultivator, moved to meet Lu Ye. The woman who had been advising Chu Shen earlier was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

A few breaths later, intense spiritual power suddenly collided. There was a faint flash of blade light, and Lu Ye's figure, like a drill, pierced through their formation. At the very back of the group, the woman hadn't even clearly seen what happened when a warm sensation suddenly appeared on her face. Instinctively, she wiped it, and her hand was covered in a sticky, warm substance. Her expression suddenly became horrified as she realized what that sticky warmth was.

As she watched, one of her three companions lay dead on the spot, while another clutched his chest, his figure gradually dimming, clearly having voluntarily withdrawn. But she still saw the horrific injury on his chest. Only the late-stage Star Realm cultivator remained relatively intact, but as he flew away, fresh blood splattered from him, indicating he was clearly injured. The next instant, the woman felt a chill at her neck, and her entire body stiffened.

She clearly felt a sharp blade resting against her neck. Spiritual power pulsed on the blade; if she dared to make any move, her head would surely be severed. In her horror, she didn't even dare to shout the words "I surrender."

A voice came from beside her ear: "You're not allies?" The reason for this question was that even though he had already captured the woman, the late-stage Star Realm cultivator had fled straight ahead without looking back, completely disregarding the woman's life or death. Clearly, the brief exchange of blows just now had made him realize the terrifying extent of Lu Ye's strength. At this moment, his only thought was to escape.

"No... no, we are, we're temporary allies, not close," the woman stammered nervously. In this Free-for-all, such temporary alliances were not uncommon, which was why the late-stage Star Realm cultivator ignored the woman's fate. The enemy was too strong; it wasn't worth risking his life for an unfamiliar woman.

"Stay still!" Lu Ye commanded, then flashed away in pursuit.

The cold sensation at her neck vanished, and the woman's stiff body suddenly relaxed. She let out a long breath, her chest rising and falling slightly. No one was around. Should she run? Or simply leave this place? After hesitating for a while, before she could make up her mind, a figure suddenly appeared beside her. It was precisely that young man.

The woman jumped in fright, her face turning pale. Lu Ye put away the controlled artifact he had left there, and glanced at her indifferently: "You're quite honest!" He hadn't expected that when he told the woman to stay still, she would actually stand there without moving. He had thought she would seize the opportunity to escape!

The woman blushed: "I was afraid you'd chase and kill me if I ran..." This was also the reason for her dilemma. Her appearance had been revealed. If she didn't obey, and was remembered and hunted down later, her future days wouldn't be easy. Of course, there was also the factor that Lu Ye gave her a non-threatening feeling. Because Lu Ye had had every opportunity to take her life just now, but he hadn't, which made the woman feel that Lu Ye wasn't an unreasonable person.

"My companion was beaten away by you all. What do you say we do about it?" Lu Ye raised his hand, pulling the corpse of the person he had just slain towards him. He took his storage ring, then asked expressionlessly.

The woman quickly waved her hand: "I didn't attack your companion..."

Lu Ye took out a piece of cloth, wiping the blood from his Red Dragon blade, as if wiping away his own evil: "I know, otherwise you wouldn't still be standing here!" Indeed, as Lu Ye rushed over, the woman hadn't attacked Chu Shen, but had instead advised him to withdraw early.

"However..." Lu Ye changed his tone, looking up at her, "He was indeed beaten away by all of you. He's a precious and rare companion of mine. Tell me, how should you compensate?"

Perhaps the aggressive look in Lu Ye's eyes made the woman misunderstand. Her face became anxious and her expression uneasy. Yet, for some reason, she looked closely at Lu Ye again, then lowered her head and whispered something.

"What?" Lu Ye didn't hear clearly.

"I can only pay with my body..." The woman was almost crying, "I don't have spirit jade, nor any good items. I just advanced to the Star Realm not long ago, and my native realm isn't strong either..."

Lu Ye's action of wiping his long blade involuntarily paused. Seeing the woman still babbling, he couldn't help but scold, "Shut up!"

The woman quickly clamped her mouth shut, looking at him sadly, as if waiting for a judgment of her fate. Lu Ye said, "Since my companion was beaten away by you all, then you can be my companion!"

"Huh?" The woman was stunned, thinking she had misheard.

"Unwilling?" Lu Ye lifted the Red Dragon in his hand; its blood-red color looked as if it hadn't been wiped clean.

"Willing, willing!" The woman nodded her head like a pecking chick.

Only then did Lu Ye sheath his blade: "Alright then. From this moment until the Free-for-all ends, we are allies. I have only one requirement: follow my commands. Understand?"

"Understood!"

"Let's go," Lu Ye called out, flying forward first. The woman quickly followed, step by step.

After flying for not long, the woman couldn't hold back her curiosity: "Are you really Fa Wuzun? The Fa Wuzun on the Merit Board?" Chu Shen had mentioned Fa Wuzun's name before, and the woman had obviously also seen the Merit Board. Although Fa Wuzun's ranking had now dropped to outside the top three hundred, just a month ago, this name had long occupied a spot within the top twenty, widely renowned. It only gradually dropped later. It could be said that anyone who had paid attention to the Merit Board could not possibly not know Fa Wuzun.

"Yes!"

"But shouldn't Fa Wuzun be an arcane cultivator? Your attire also looks like that of an arcane cultivator, so why do you use a saber?" As she asked this, the woman showed an expression of sudden realization: "I understand! Your name is fake. You use this name to make everyone think you're an arcane cultivator, but when you actually fight, you suddenly draw your saber, catching others off guard! No wonder your mid-stage cultivation ranking is so high, it seems many people..."

She stopped talking, afraid, as Lu Ye stared at her expressionlessly. The woman shrank her neck, looking timid.

"Someone's fighting up ahead!" The woman tried to change the subject.

Lu Ye had already sensed it too. He led the woman and flew in that direction, as he still needed to quickly find a few more allies. When they arrived, they found two mid-stage Star Realm cultivators engaged in fierce combat.

"Take this!" Lu Ye took out a controlled artifact and handed it to the woman. "Stand still."

The woman obediently took it, not asking why. Then she saw Lu Ye charging fiercely towards the battle, and saw the two mid-stage Star Realm cultivators, who were fighting intensely, easily cut down by Lu Ye like two blades of grass. She was momentarily captivated, secretly wishing she could also possess such strength someday.