Chapter 176: Li Baxiang's Guidance

On the plaza in front of Shouzhen Peak’s main hall, beneath the crimson-gold flame banner, Lu Ye stood with his hand on his saber hilt, his expression solemn as he gazed forward.

Facing him, Li Baxian casually held a sword, smiling as he spoke: “In just half a year, you’ve reached the fifth-layer realm. Your cultivation has improved too quickly. Sometimes, rapid cultivation isn’t necessarily a good thing, because others have more time to hone their combat skills, which you lack. This is especially crucial for saber cultivators. On Mount Jinguang, you fought bravely, but your technique was insufficient. That’s your biggest weakness.”

In half a year, he had grown from a junior cultivator who had just opened his spiritual aperture to a fifth-layer realm expert, even mastering a defensive spirit pattern that could be activated at will. This news had already spread and was no secret.

Lu Ye had initially thought the sect master would inquire about this, and he had prepared to tell the truth if asked.

However, since his awakening, the sect master hadn’t mentioned it at all. A few days prior, while they were all recovering from injuries in bed, the sect master had merely cautioned Lu Ye that many now knew he had gained some fortuitous encounters in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and some might try to exploit this, urging him to be vigilant.

Of course, the likelihood of such an event was low. The sect master explained that the Spirit Creek Battlefield held many fortuitous encounters. While Lu Ye’s progress to the fifth-layer realm in half a year seemed rapid, history recorded even faster advancements. Once, a mortal gained an encounter in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and reached the ninth-layer realm in just one year.

The Spirit Creek Battlefield contained many mysterious places, holding various wonders that ordinary people could hardly perceive, but those with destiny could easily acquire them.

Almost every few years, someone would gain a fortuitous encounter, and the cultivation world had grown accustomed to such occurrences, mostly just envying others’ good fortune.

For those with genuine aspirations, it was better to strive for self-improvement than to merely envy others’ good luck.

“The old man is a spell cultivator, and Second Senior Sister is a medical cultivator. Moreover, their strength is too formidable; they haven’t taught anyone for many years and can’t teach you much. As your Fourth Senior Brother, I will instruct you properly,” Li Baxian said with a hearty laugh. To him, teaching Lu Ye seemed like a pleasant task. “You’re at the fifth-layer realm. I’ll suppress my cultivation to the fifth-layer realm, so I won’t take advantage of you. Use all your abilities and attack!”

As he spoke, he took a swig from the wine gourd in his hand.

However, the moment he raised his wine gourd, Lu Ye charged at him. Mid-stride, he drew his saber and unleashed a horizontal slash.

“Knowing how to ambush, very good,” Li Baxian remarked, his feet unmoving. He leaned slightly back, and the edge of the Mountainbane Saber grazed his neck without harming him in the slightest. He even had the leisure to comment on Lu Ye’s strike: “When facing an enemy, maintain this forward-charging momentum, but exerting too much force isn’t good; it makes you easily exploitable.”

Lu Ye’s saber sliced diagonally downwards, but Li Baxian dodged again, without even moving his feet. He continued: “Insufficient adaptability, slow to change moves…”

On the plaza, Lu Ye continuously struck, while Li Baxian dodged and chattered incessantly, irritating Lu Ye immensely, causing his attacks to grow even fiercer.

However, he helplessly realized the vast disparity between himself and his Fourth Senior Brother. Even with his senior’s cultivation suppressed to the fifth-layer realm, Lu Ye couldn’t even touch a corner of his clothes.

Every saber strike he unleashed was evaded by Li Baxian as if he knew it beforehand. And even now, Fourth Senior Brother hadn’t drawn his sword; he merely held it, occasionally taking a few sips of wine between remarks.

Only then did Lu Ye realize the terrifying prowess of his Fourth Senior Brother. If someone like his Fourth Senior Brother had been present on Mount Jinguang, Lu Ye would have long since been beaten to a pulp.

Taking another sip of wine, Li Baxian’s aura suddenly shifted. He raised the long sword in his hand, casually deflecting Lu Ye’s attacks, and leisurely said: “Little Junior Brother, be careful, I’m going to draw my sword now!”

The next instant, a series of clanging sounds erupted. Lu Ye’s expression instantly turned serious. Fourth Senior Brother’s sword strikes weren’t overly forceful, nor were they particularly fast, yet each strike was timed perfectly, preventing Lu Ye’s saber slashes from forming. Moments later, Lu Ye felt like a manipulated puppet, able only to passively defend against his Fourth Senior Brother’s attacks.

Li Baxian advanced step by step, and Lu Ye retreated in kind. As their weapons clashed, Li Baxian said: “In a saber cultivator’s battle, you must control your own rhythm and make your opponent follow it. Achieve that, and you’ll be able to lead them by the nose, just like this!”

As his words fell, he flicked his long sword. Lu Ye’s body suddenly arched backward, leaving his guard wide open. A point of sword light thrust directly towards him. Lu Ye saw the strike and felt a chill run down his spine. With a thought, a defensive spirit pattern formed on his chest.

However, the next moment he froze. Looking down, he saw that Fourth Senior Brother’s sword had already pierced his chest, three fen (about 1cm) deep, just an inch from his heart.

His defensive spirit pattern hadn’t even had time to block the sword!

And… was Fourth Senior Brother serious?

Lu Ye looked up. Li Baxian’s eyelids were lowered as he said: “Little Junior Brother, you’re dead!”

He yanked his sword out abruptly, drawing a spray of blood, and Lu Ye staggered backward.

Not far away, Yiyi, who had been eagerly watching the battle, let out a startled cry and rose, ready to rush towards Lu Ye.

A hand pressed down on her shoulder. Yiyi turned to see Shui Yuan shaking her head: “When he travels the battlefields and the Nine Provinces in the future, his enemies won’t show him any mercy. It’s better for him to suffer more here now, so he suffers less later.”

Though worried, Yiyi knew that Second Senior Sister would never harm Lu Ye, so she forced herself to keep watching. At the same time, she understood why Second Senior Sister had prepared a large basin of medicinal liquid before the fight began…

“Again!” Lu Ye took a deep breath. Although his chest had nearly been pierced, Fourth Senior Brother had exercised restraint and avoided vital points. He raised his long saber and charged at Li Baxian once more.

A moment later, blood splattered, and Li Baxian’s calm voice rang out: “Little Junior Brother, you’re dead again!”

A little later: “Little Junior Brother, you’ve died three times!”

An hour later, Lu Ye lay pale on the ground, his body covered in wounds. Though none were serious, he had lost a considerable amount of blood and was too weak to continue fighting.

In that single hour, his Fourth Senior Brother had “killed” him over a hundred times, and that was with Fourth Senior Brother holding back.

The high sun’s glare made it difficult for Lu Ye to keep his eyes open.

A shadow fell over his eyes. Li Baxian squatted before him, smiling. “How do you feel?”

Lu Ye didn’t know how to answer; “terrible” barely scratched the surface of how he felt.

He couldn’t help but ask: “Fourth Senior Brother, has our Crimson Blood Sect always trained disciples like this?” If so, it seemed a bit… destructive to disciples.

“How could that be?” Li Baxian chuckled. “You’re the only one right now, so we have to give you extra care and attention. Don’t worry, the medicinal meals you ate earlier all have the effect of replenishing your vital energy and blood. You’ll be fine after resting for a night.”

Only then did Lu Ye understand why there had been such a lavish spread of delicious dishes earlier.

“Then, Fourth Senior Brother, have you taught anyone else before?”

“No.”

“So you don’t even know how to teach people!”

Because he didn’t know how to teach, he could only let Lu Ye use his own injuries to remember the repeated deadly crises, and this kind of physical memory was undoubtedly the most profound.

Li Baxian patted his shoulder and said earnestly: “Let’s be considerate of each other. Also, this was Second Senior Sister’s idea, it had nothing to do with me…”

Before he could finish, Second Senior Sister grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, hoisting him aside.

Immediately after, Shui Yuan helped Lu Ye up and walked him towards a nearby house where medicinal liquid had already been prepared.

After Second Senior Sister’s treatment, Lu Ye was revitalized. His flesh wounds healed quickly due to the extraordinary efficacy of the medicinal liquid she prepared, and her own considerable medical cultivation. By evening, Lu Ye was able to get up, drenched in sweat.

His injuries hadn’t fully healed, but another night’s rest should be enough.

Furthermore, all the overlapping new and old scars on Lu Ye’s body had vanished, a testament to Second Senior Sister’s miraculous techniques.

After another table of medicinal dishes that evening, Lu Ye used the Heavenly Mystery Pillar to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

He planned to cultivate in the battlefield at night, as it was the most efficient place for cultivation.

The moment he appeared in the Heavenly Mystery Hall, he sensed the presence of living beings outside. Lu Ye turned to look and saw two heads peeking in, one he had met yesterday, and another he didn’t recognize. Judging by his spiritual light, the latter was clearly a seventh-layer realm cultivator.

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then stepped outside.

The seventh-layer cultivator enthusiastically approached him, cupping his hands. “Are you Fellow Daoist Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? I am Chen Yu.”

Lu Ye nodded and tossed a contract to Chen Yu. “If you have no objections, sign it.”

“Huh?” Chen Yu looked bewildered. He took the contract and examined it carefully.

When he returned earlier that day, Lu Ye had consulted Second Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother at the dinner table about how to manage the rogue cultivators in the outpost. He also learned some general information about the situation there from Second Senior Sister.

Although Second Senior Sister couldn’t freely enter or exit the Spirit Creek Battlefield, she had a few trustworthy rogue cultivators there. She had previously tasked them with inquiring about Lu Ye’s whereabouts, but as their cultivation wasn’t high, they hadn’t found anything useful before news of Lu Ye’s adventures spread. By the time they received the information, it was already too late.

Through those rogue cultivators, Second Senior Sister had some understanding of the situation within the outpost.

Chen Yu was one of them, and also the strongest among the rogue cultivators. As this was the outermost perimeter, a seventh-layer cultivation was already quite high. Furthermore, he had been managing the market here, which was why he wanted to speak with Lu Ye.

The market within the outpost was different from the markets Lu Ye had passed through before. There was no branch of the Heavenly Mystery Merchant Alliance here because, regardless of other factors, this was a Crimson Blood Sect outpost. While rogue cultivators could come and go, the Heavenly Mystery Merchant Alliance could not establish a presence without it being seen as a provocation to the Crimson Blood Sect.

Nevertheless, even without a Heavenly Mystery Merchant Alliance branch, the market enjoyed considerable popularity because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the outpost was one-tenth denser than in the wilderness, which was a significant draw for rogue cultivators.