Chapter 159: Heavenly Secret Contract

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Chapter 159: The Heavenly Secret Pact

Li Baxian suddenly realized that although his junior brother was only at the fifth-level cultivation and had always been protected, his heart remained as clear as a mirror.

With a long sigh, he looked at Wei Yang and quietly asked, "Can she be changed back?"

The question was strange, but Wei Yang shook her head. "She's asleep."

"Then we can't rely on external help," Li Baxian muttered.

Since the course of events was already set, the details needed to be discussed thoroughly.

He raised a hand to wipe his face, looking troubled. "My junior brother is kind-hearted and doesn't wish for anyone else to die for him. If Myriad Demon Ridge finds his previous proposal feasible, then let's discuss the details together!"

Such a battle, if it were to be carried out, would certainly require many things to be negotiated; it couldn't simply be driven by Lu Ye's challenge, "Whoever wants to kill me, come and fight!"

The negotiations would naturally be handled by the powerhouses from both sides. Even though Lu Ye was the cause and center of this conflict, he was not qualified to participate. His cultivation was too low, and his experience limited.

However, with Li Baxian leading the discussions, there was no need to worry that the outcome would be unfavorable to Lu Ye. Lu Ye had a deep understanding of how protective his senior brothers and sisters in Azureblood Sect were, especially his Eldest Senior Sister, who, despite her unknown cultivation, had forced her way into the Spirit Creek Battlefield to protect him, defying Heavenly Secret's punishment and staying by his side at all times.

As Li Baxian spoke, he hailed a sword cultivator in the crowd, who immediately flashed over and cupped his fists, "Senior Uncle Li!"

Although they appeared to be of similar age, Li Baxian was, in fact, senior in seniority. It could be said that ninety-nine percent of the cultivators currently active in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were a generation below him.

This was unavoidable; he didn't want to remain in the Spirit Creek Battlefield forever, but his Spirit Apertures were shattered, preventing his advancement, which left him quite desperate.

This sword cultivator was from the North Xuan Sword Sect and was also a formidable presence on the Spirit Creek List.

"Protect my junior brother well," Li Baxian ordered.

The sword cultivator immediately replied, "Don't worry, Senior Uncle."

Although Wei Yang had been protecting Lu Ye, her current state was unstable. With divine lightning surrounding her, if just one or two more people died by her hand, she would surely be destroyed by it. There was a Sacred Fire Sect among Myriad Demon Ridge, and those individuals, their minds burned by their own sacred fire, were not normal people; it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't act recklessly.

This sword cultivator was an extra layer of protection.

Li Baxian flashed away, accompanied by several other Spirit Creek List powerhouses. From Myriad Demon Ridge, several individuals also flew out. More than a dozen Spirit Creek List powerhouses gathered to discuss the various details of this battle.

Moments later, the discussion became heated, with faces turning red and veins popping out, Li Baxian being the most intense, his spiritual power wildly fluctuating, and sword energy raging around him.

Lu Ye watched with trepidation, "They won't actually fight, will they?" If they started fighting, then there would be no more discussion.

Wei Yang glanced over and comforted him, "They won't fight. They're just putting on a show."

Lu Ye watched for a while longer and noticed that the situation there seemed to be escalating towards a fight, yet no one made a move. He immediately understood that Wei Yang was right.

He raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the sword cultivator standing in front of him. "Thank you for earlier, Senior Brother."

This sword cultivator was the same cloaked figure who had previously blocked a powerful enemy for him.

"Senior Uncle Li's matters are the North Xuan Sword Sect's matters. Junior Senior Uncle needn't be so polite," the sword cultivator replied calmly.

He became a "Junior Senior Uncle" now? Lu Ye thought about his own age... seniority was truly a strange thing.

Wei Yang squatted down to play with Amber, who slightly raised its head, narrowed its eyes, and looked very comfortable as its chin was scratched.

It was strange, however, that the dark purple lightning surrounding Wei Yang, though appearing incredibly violent, caused no harm to outsiders who touched her.

From earlier conversations with others, Lu Ye learned that this was called Soul Extinguishing Divine Lightning, and it seemed to be related to Eldest Senior Sister forcibly breaking into the Spirit Creek Battlefield to kill people. The more people she killed, the greater the harm this thing inflicted on her.

Yet, now Eldest Senior Sister seemed completely at ease, as if nothing was wrong, letting the dark purple lightning constantly flicker around her. Lu Ye didn't know if she was truly unharmed or just pretending.

"All sect leaders from Myriad Demon Ridge, get over here!" Li Baxian's shout suddenly echoed from not far away.

After a slight hesitation, figures darted towards him. Lu Ye watched dispassionately, realizing that at least forty people went!

In other words, that was how many Myriad Demon Ridge sects were gathered here.

A moment later, a low murmur suddenly came from that side, seemingly Li Baxian's voice. Lu Ye didn't quite hear it clearly, but as the murmuring continued, a golden vortex suddenly appeared in the sky. From within that golden vortex, a milky-white light pillar descended directly towards Li Baxian.

Before the milky-white light pillar could fully descend, Li Baxian reached out and grabbed it, and in his hand was an ancient animal skin scroll.

The light pillar dissipated, and the golden vortex vanished.

"What was that?" Lu Ye had never seen such a thing before and couldn't help but be curious.

"A Heavenly Secret Pact!" Wei Yang explained. "For contracts that need to be signed by many people, making individual Heavenly Secret Oaths is too troublesome, so you can summon a Heavenly Secret Pact. However, it requires some contribution points."

Lu Ye was greatly astonished. Heavenly Secret, in this world, seemed to be a profound and mysterious existence, lofty and overseeing all beings. And if one spent contribution points, they could even engage in some mysterious communication with Heavenly Secret.

Li Baxian held the Heavenly Secret Pact, carefully reviewed it, then bit his fingertip until it bled and pressed a blood seal onto it. He went first, followed by many cultivators who did the same.

Soon, dozens of blood fingerprints appeared on the Heavenly Secret Pact.

Li Baxian returned with a grim expression, holding the Heavenly Secret Pact.

A moment later, the powerhouses from both major factions began to clear the area. Under their restraint, the bustling central area of Golden Light Peak was cleared. Even the bodies of those who had fallen in battle were removed. Cultivators from both sides occupied their respective areas, and in the cleared center, a temporary arena about twenty zhang in diameter was marked out—this was where Lu Ye would face the cultivators from Myriad Demon Ridge!

At this moment, Lu Ye and Wei Yang were together reviewing the various clauses on the Heavenly Secret Pact. These were the details drafted by the powerhouses from both sides, witnessed by Heavenly Secret, and no one was allowed to violate them.

There were over thirty clauses in total, extremely comprehensive, completely eliminating any possibility of opportunistic behavior.

Among them was the stipulation that the highest cultivation level for a Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator challenging Lu Ye would be at the sixth level, cultivating Earth-tier cultivation techniques or below. The specific mention of this was because a sixth-level cultivator practicing Heaven-tier techniques and one practicing Earth-tier techniques were completely different entities. The former had opened 180 apertures, while the latter had only opened 81, a vast difference.

This was the advantage of having powerful backing. Lu Ye hadn't considered this point earlier, but Li Baxian had.

Other clauses included: no use of any external power, except for spirit artifacts already refined by the cultivator; no use of spirit talismans during combat, and so on.

Under the constraints of these clauses, to achieve victory, one had to genuinely and honorably slay Lu Ye in a head-on battle!

Many clauses were unfavorable to Lu Ye, but some were beneficial to him.

For instance, in each battle, Lu Ye had the right to choose a quarter-hour of rest. This was a result Li Baxian had fought hard for. For a cultivator, a quarter-hour of rest was truly too short, but Myriad Demon Ridge absolutely refused any longer period, leaving Li Baxian helpless.

However, he managed to secure another clause that was even more beneficial to Lu Ye.

That was, this battle would be limited to three days. After three days, if Lu Ye was still alive, then Myriad Demon Ridge would have to retreat!

Alternatively, Lu Ye could kill all the challenging cultivators from the sects named on the Heavenly Secret Pact!

Lu Ye read through each clause, committing them to memory.

Wei Yang looked at him with worry. "Junior brother, you don't have to do this. If your Fourth Senior Brother and I fought to the death to protect you, we might not have a chance to get you away!"

Even with Li Baxian's utmost efforts, for a fifth-level cultivator to survive three days under continuous attacks from relays of enemies was almost entirely hopeless. Dozens of Myriad Demon Ridge sects, each sending out a fifth or sixth-level cultivator, would exhaust Lu Ye to death.

Hearing Wei Yang's words, Lu Ye shook his head. "Everyone has done enough for me. So many people have already died. I can't keep hiding behind others. Eldest Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother are willing to fight to the death to protect me, but I, as a junior brother, cannot accept that with a clear conscience. This battle started because of me, so it should be ended by me!"

Wei Yang felt a pang in her heart. After waiting so many years, she finally had a junior brother, and the sect's legacy had hope, only for him to be caught in the gamble between the two major factions. In such a fierce tide, even she, a True Lake Realm cultivator who had forcibly entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, could do little, let alone her junior brother, who was only at the fifth level.

She only resented the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao and her own insufficient cultivation!

"Eldest Senior Sister!" Li Baxian suddenly called out in a low voice.

Wei Yang's somewhat turbulent aura slowly calmed, and her dilated pupils refocused.

"I won't die!" Lu Ye said calmly. "I still want to see what Azureblood Sect truly looks like. I have no home, no family in this world. The Sect Master took me in, so Azureblood Sect is my home, and you and Fourth Senior Brother are my family! Therefore, I will not die!"

He stepped forward, walking steadily to the center of the battle circle, where the powerhouses from both major factions had outlined a simple arena. He stopped, looked towards the Myriad Demon Ridge camp, and quietly spoke, "Who will come to their death!"

From the Myriad Demon Ridge side, mocking gazes fell upon him, looking at Lu Ye as if he were already a dead man.

They believed that this Azureblood Sect disciple must have lost his mind to propose such a thing earlier. To provoke the entire Myriad Demon Ridge faction with merely fifth-level cultivation—how arrogant and delusional!

Now that the Heavenly Secret Pact had been concluded, Vast Heaven Alliance had no room for regret. Anyone who dared to interfere with this duel would be jointly suppressed by the powerhouses who signed the pact, under the constraints of the Heavenly Secret Pact.

Thus, even someone like Yan Xing dared not make any rash moves at this moment. He could only stare fiercely at Li Baxian from across Golden Light Peak.