Chapter 1421: Xuanwu Formation

When they formed a three-person array, Lu Ye's team's offense was already extremely sharp. Now, with five, it was even more formidable.

In contrast, the targeted enemies performed poorly after losing a late-stage Star Constellation realm cultivator. Coupled with the immense danger of the ghost's flickering presence, they became even more apprehensive. After only a brief exchange, this otherwise decent team was utterly defeated, with many injured or killed, retreating in disarray.

At the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, Liu Quan politely escorted Lu Ye to the door. Most cultivators in the outer circle were relatively poor, with the exception of disciples from major sects. Therefore, transactions involving several dozen spirit stones were not common. As Lu Ye was also quite straightforward, Liu Quan naturally wanted to get to know him better, hoping for future business.

Watching Lu Ye's figure disappear, Liu Quan turned around, a waft of fragrance meeting him. Someone was standing behind him.

"You startled me!" Liu Quan exclaimed, annoyed. "Why aren't you greeting customers? What are you doing standing behind me?"

The person replied sweetly, "I missed you."

Liu Quan, feeling guilty, glanced left and right. Seeing no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, "I'll come find you after work tonight."

"Alright," the woman replied with a smile.

Liu Quan casually walked towards the hall to greet other customers. The woman, meanwhile, subtly glanced in the direction Lu Ye had departed, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Later that night, after their intimacy, the two casually chatted. The woman subtly guided the conversation to the day's transaction. Liu Quan, feeling tired, responded intermittently and soon fell fast asleep.

The woman lay in his arms, finding it difficult to sleep. If she wasn't mistaken, the customer from earlier was the same one she had served half a month ago. He had sold many ores and then bought some spiritual pills. She hadn't expected him to return to sell ores again after just half a month. From the customer's appearance, he was undoubtedly a lone cultivator. For an unattached lone cultivator to accumulate a fortune of several dozen spirit stones in such a short time naturally caught her attention.

Someone like her, working at the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, including extra income, only earned a maximum of twelve or thirteen spirit stones per month. This made her recall her days as a lone cultivator, and the comparison left her feeling a bit bitter. She mused for a long time before finally feeling sleepy, but couldn't get a good night's rest.

Meanwhile, in the cave on Qingyun Mountain, Lu Ye was cultivating. After finishing his transaction at the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance during the day, he used his remaining spirit stones to buy a lot of food. He then rushed back without delay, arriving before nightfall. With enough spiritual pills, he immediately began cultivating by consuming them. As spiritual pills were consumed one by one, the spiritual energy in his fifteenth aperture gradually filled up, then began to impact the sixteenth.

Twelve days later, in the cave, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, calming his mind and concentrating. Today was a big day. If all went well, he would advance to the second layer of the Spirit Stream Realm. Since returning twelve days ago, he had continuously consumed over thirty Spirit Accumulation Pills, finally opening his eighteenth aperture and cultivating its spiritual energy to full capacity.

Recalling the cultivation route in the Golden Cicada's Freedom Art, Lu Ye activated his spiritual energy, starting from the tenth aperture and successively passing through the eleventh, twelfth... up to the eighteenth. He had done this when he achieved the first layer of the Spirit Stream Realm, so he was quite proficient this time and encountered no difficulties. The spiritual energy smoothly penetrated the nine major apertures, flowing gently like a stream. As Lu Ye continued, the speed of the spiritual energy flowing through these nine apertures continuously accelerated, cycling through the entire circuit.

Reaching a limit, Lu Ye felt a jolt throughout his body. A wave of energy swept through him, and the spiritual energy flowing through his tenth to eighteenth apertures began to circulate on its own.

Spirit Stream Realm, second layer: Achieved!

Having experienced this once before, Lu Ye felt no excessive joy, only a natural sense of calm. Now, he was no longer the novice three-aperture cultivator who had been stranded in the Spirit Stream battlefield just over two months ago. If achieving the first layer of the Spirit Stream Realm qualified him to survive in the outer circle of the battlefield, then the second layer gave him the right to roam. Of course, there was still a gap compared to cultivators with higher cultivation levels, but Lu Ye was already very satisfied.

He had spent roughly forty days to reach the first layer, but only less than a month to advance from the first to the second. This was mainly due to abundant cultivation resources. Even so, this cultivation speed was still terrifying. It's important to know that in the early stages of cultivation, cultivators typically took about ten days to open each aperture. This was because their primary method involved absorbing and exhaling spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and when their cultivation level wasn't high enough, the efficiency was low, so their cultivation speed naturally couldn't be fast. This situation would only slightly improve after reaching the fourth layer of the Spirit Stream Realm. In other words, for ordinary cultivators at the start of their journey, advancing one layer every three months was normal. But for Lu Ye, advancing one layer on average every month – that was the joy of cultivating with pills.

At the first layer, Lu Ye only had a minor Heavenly Cycle circulation from his source aperture to the ninth. But after reaching the second layer, he gained another circulation starting from the tenth aperture and ending at the eighteenth. He now had two spiritual energy circulation systems within his body. As a result, he could activate more spiritual energy in a short time, and its destructive power would naturally be stronger. Upon reaching the third layer, there would be three such minor Heavenly Cycle circulations. Following this pattern, a ninth-layer Spirit Stream Realm cultivator would have nine minor Heavenly Cycle circulation systems within their body.

He still had thirty Spirit Accumulation Pills. Although Lu Ye truly wanted to continue cultivating, he also knew that haste makes waste. He first ate something, then went outside the cave. He found a mountain spring to bathe in, changed into clean clothes, and then, to the sound of the babbling spring, took out the Golden Cicada's Freedom Art to study. Next, he was to advance towards the third layer of the Spirit Stream Realm. He needed to ascertain the locations of the apertures beyond the eighteenth, which would facilitate his subsequent cultivation.

The mountains and wilderness were quiet, occasionally punctuated by the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects. Dappled sunlight penetrated the canopy of leaves, shining on the young man's profile, making the scene appear like a painting.

"What are you doing, sneaking around?" Lu Ye called out without lifting his head.

From the trunk of a large tree nearby, a small head peeked out. With its disheveled hair, its appearance would surely startle anyone unaware. Yiyi glanced at Lu Ye's reading material. After realizing it was a low-level cultivation technique, she pouted slightly, looking dismissive.

"Something wrong?" Lu Ye asked, tilting his head, forcefully suppressing the urge to punch her.

"When are you leaving?" Yiyi asked.

Although Lu Ye hadn't come out to hunt during this time, this was her and Dahu's territory. How could they allow someone else to encroach upon their domain? If it weren't for her apprehension about the spiritual talismans in Lu Ye's possession, she would have long since cooperated with Dahu to drive Lu Ye away. However, having suffered a loss at Lu Ye's hands once, Yiyi still dared not act rashly. Moreover, Yiyi could tell that Lu Ye was much stronger than he had been two months ago.

Lu Ye closed his book, stood up, and stretched. "I'm tired, going back to sleep!" he said.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Yiyi said angrily. However, she received no response and could only grit her teeth and curse: "Scoundrel, rotten thing, you're infuriating me! Wah-yah-yah-yah!" She then furiously scratched at a nearby large tree, sending wood chips flying.

The ghost disappeared. Lu Ye led his four-person team to the purple talisman and reached out to grab it. However, when he was about ten inches away, he encountered an invisible obstruction. This was the treasure's restriction! He smoothly changed his hand from a claw to a palm, pressed it against the restriction, and channeled spiritual energy into it. Breaking this restriction was difficult with interference, but quick without it. It only took twenty breaths. Two hours later, Lu Ye finally put away his blade. He walked to a shaded spot, took out his water skin, washed himself briefly, changed into clean clothes, and then returned to the base of the cliff.

Dahu was already sound asleep, snoring thunderously. Yiyi was still sitting there, likely waiting for him. However, seeing Lu Ye's expression, she found it strange. Lu Ye looked as if he had made some difficult decision, wearing an expression of resolute determination. She couldn't help but tilt her head.

Lu Ye, troubled and conflicted, sat down cross-legged. After a moment's thought, he instructed Yiyi, "If I pass out in a bit, don't worry too much."

"Hmm?" Yiyi looked utterly confused.

Lu Ye didn't explain much. He closed his eyes, immersed his mind, and once again "saw" the Talent Tree residing in his source aperture. On the massive tree crown, three leaves were burning fiercely. A fourth leaf was already glowing, but hadn't caught fire. In the mine tunnel of Evil Moon Valley, his Talent Tree had manifested its first burning leaf, which carried a Spirit Mark called 'Sharpness'. Without that Sharpness Spirit Mark, he wouldn't have been able to kill the heavily injured Zhou Cheng so easily later, pierce through the fair-skinned man's protective spiritual energy with a single sword, or severely wound the snake demon and ultimately win. This Spirit Mark had greatly helped Lu Ye at several crucial moments.

Currently, two more leaves on the Talent Tree were burning. While feeling apprehensive, he was also very eager to see what kind of Spirit Marks he would obtain. His attention slowly focused. Lu Ye looked towards one of the burning leaves. Just like last time, the small leaf rapidly magnified, instantly filling his entire vision and mind. At the same time, a vast amount of information uncontrollably flooded into his mind. Lu Ye once again felt as if someone had violently smashed his head with a hammer. Last time, he had fainted instantly. This time, although he felt dizzy and the pain was unbearable, he managed not to faint. Lu Ye would rather have fainted, because throughout the process, he felt a sensation worse than death. It was as if someone had pried open his brain, forcefully crammed in things he completely didn't understand, and then vigorously stirred them around.

He abruptly opened his eyes, a suppressed growl escaping his throat, his eyes blood-red. Yiyi, who had been watching him, was startled. Even the sleeping Dahu was awakened, letting out a roar and looking around vigilantly, mistaking it for an ambush. After a good while, Lu Ye gradually calmed down. His vision was still blood-red, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. Yiyi and Dahu stood by in a panic, at a loss. In fact, Lu Ye's appearance at that moment was extremely ferocious. Not only were his eyes blood-red, but veins bulged on both his temples, as if he were enduring immense torture. After heavily panting for a moment, Lu Ye recovered slightly. He reassured the nervous Dahu and Yiyi, "It's alright."

He closed his eyes again. The pain had passed; it was time to reap the rewards. Yiyi and Dahu exchanged glances, both bewildered. However, this matter seemed related to Lu Ye's cultivation, and since he wasn't saying anything, Yiyi found it awkward to ask. She could only stand guard with Dahu.

At this moment, Lu Ye was examining the characteristics of the second Spirit Mark.

Protection!

This was the name of the second Spirit Mark. Judging solely by its name, it should be a defensive Spirit Mark. Lu Ye had previously speculated that the first Spirit Mark was offensive, and perhaps the second would be defensive. It now seemed that this was indeed the case. He opened his eyes, and after a brief moment of contemplation, a visible layer of spiritual light suddenly flickered on his palm. The spiritual light transformed into the shape of a triangular shield, upon which intricate and complex patterns were carved.

"This is... a Spirit Mark?" Yiyi, who had been silently watching Lu Ye, was startled. Although she had lost many memories, she still remembered some common knowledge of the cultivation world and understood more than Lu Ye. A Spirit Mark, it's almost unbelievable. One must understand that low-level cultivators like Lu Ye usually focused primarily on improving their cultivation. They didn't even have time to research and learn spells, let alone complex Spirit Marks. Of course, some spells could also be seen as manifestations of Spirit Marks. In fact, the Spirit Mark Lu Ye was now activating could be seen as a defensive spell. Spells and Spirit Marks were closely related, often sharing commonalities but not entirely identical. It was difficult to explain in a few words. But regardless, for a low-level cultivator to be able to construct a Spirit Mark was still unbelievable.

Yiyi became increasingly certain that Lu Ye was likely a disciple of some top-tier sect. Moreover, his status within that sect was definitely not low; he might even be the illegitimate son of a sect master or something similar, forced to come out and train alone due to unavoidable circumstances... In just a few breaths, she had already imagined an entire story full of grudges and romance.

Lu Ye, however, didn't notice Yiyi's gaze. He was currently testing the sturdiness of 'Protection'. Purely in terms of defensive power, 'Protection''s capability completely surpassed his own protective spiritual energy; there was at least a several-fold difference in defensive strength. This meant that in the future, he would have better defensive means against any attacks he encountered. However, while its defensive power was outstanding, its consumption was also not low. This palm-sized 'Protection' Spirit Mark consumed the entire spiritual energy reserves of one of Lu Ye's apertures. It consumed even more than 'Sharpness'. In other words, if he continuously activated such a Spirit Mark twenty times, Lu Ye would exhaust his spiritual energy. Moreover, if the defensive range were expanded, the consumption would increase further. Lu Ye was currently only activating a palm-sized 'Protection' Spirit Mark; this didn't mean the 'Protection' Spirit Mark was limited to this size. If he wished, he could activate a much larger one.

All in all, this was a good Spirit Mark. Although he had Golden Body Talismans, spiritual talismans would always run out. But this 'Protection' Spirit Mark was his own inherent ability. Furthermore, comparatively, activating 'Protection' was instantaneous, while activating a spiritual talisman was more troublesome. He first had to take the talisman from his storage bag and infuse it with spiritual energy. In intense combat, Lu Ye often wouldn't have the time for these steps. If he had possessed such a Spirit Mark before encountering the fair-skinned man, he could have completely withstood the opponent's attacks and fought him head-on to kill him.

One Spirit Mark, though it didn't increase Lu Ye's cultivation, greatly boosted his combat power.

There was still one more... Lu Ye shuddered at the thought of his previous experience. He didn't plan to investigate the other Spirit Mark, at least not for the next couple of days. His mind was currently a mess. If he were to investigate that Spirit Mark again, he might very well die. So, he needed to rest for a few days before doing anything else.

Taking out a Spirit Accumulation Pill and consuming it, Lu Ye prepared to investigate the question that had always puzzled him: whether his pill-assisted cultivation had no hidden dangers because of his Talent Tree. Calmly sensing, he quickly "saw" the Talent Tree hidden in his source aperture.