Chapter 185: Chess Sea

Wind Rises Across Kyushu

Seeing Lu Ye rushing towards him, the spell cultivator could no longer spare a thought for Hua Ci. The golden light in his hand changed direction, blasting towards Lu Ye.

During the charge, Lu Ye's body weaved and swayed, seemingly narrowly avoiding each of his opponent's spells, yet in reality, he moved with effortless ease. His eyesight could discern the traces of the wind-swift spells, and his movements kept pace with the commands from his mind. As such, it would be difficult for any spell to hit him, unless it was an area-of-effect attack or exceptionally fast.

Three breaths later, the spell cultivator's eyes were filled with horror because the person charging at him had perfectly dodged every single one of his spells! He quickly retreated, spiritual power surging around his body. A large mass of golden light rapidly gathered in front of his chest, and from its stance, it seemed he was about to unleash a powerful spell.

Just then, an emerald green, arrow-like impact struck from the side. The spell cultivator's attention had been entirely drawn to Lu Ye, leaving him utterly unprepared for this attack. He was directly knocked off balance, and his hastily gathered spiritual power dispersed.

Hua Ci had made her move. She was indeed a medical cultivator, but she was not without combat capabilities. As a rogue cultivator, she would have died long ago had she lacked the ability to fight. While being a medical cultivator, she was also a spell cultivator, though she didn't master many spells, nor were they particularly powerful. This emerald green spell didn't cause much damage, but its effect was extremely apparent.

The spell the seventh-layer spell cultivator was preparing was interrupted. Seeing Lu Ye already close, in his panic, he could only once again unleash the golden light towards Lu Ye. Lu Ye's form shifted, easily dodging the attack. His Pan Mountain Blade slashed down, a dazzling blade light flashing. The golden light condensed on the spell cultivator's body shattered with a roar. A scream rang out as a huge wound was cut into his chest, and he stumbled backward.

Lu Ye, like a maggot clinging to bone, followed closely. A direct stab, enhanced by sharp spirit patterns, made the already heavy blade light even sharper. The blade pierced through his heart and exited from his back. The spell cultivator raised his hand and gripped the blade, his eyes filled with an incredulous expression. At this moment, he finally understood that his companion hadn't died due to carelessness, but because the enemy was too strong.

Lu Ye withdrew his blade, and blood along with fragments of flesh flew up. The spell cultivator's body swayed on the spot for a moment, then toppled to the ground. A large pool of blood gushed out beneath him, his eyes wide open, dying with a look of disbelief.

With Lu Ye closing in, just two strikes were enough to kill a seventh-layer spell cultivator. This was much simpler than killing a soldier cultivator, but it shouldn't be assumed that spell cultivators are easy to kill. At the same cultivation level, it's very difficult for a soldier cultivator to get close to a spell cultivator, and Lu Ye had suffered such disadvantages when his cultivation was lower. But now, it was almost impossible for a spell cultivator of the same level to harm him; once he got close, they were in for a terrible outcome.

Two points of red light flew out one after another, landing on the back of Lu Ye's hand. He lowered his head to check; his merit points had increased by twenty-eight. His imprint also contained something else; upon careful perception, he found it was the blessing of a Heavenly Secret Pillar. Each sect that entered here had a blessing worth five hundred merit points as a wager. Killing their members allowed one to seize this wager. As long as Lu Ye could return alive to the Bloodriver Sect, he could choose to place these seized blessings in his own Heavenly Secret Pillar to enhance the spiritual energy of their stronghold, or exchange them for an equivalent amount of sect merit points.

Sect merit points and personal merit points were different, but they could be converted to a certain extent. Therefore, throughout the years, every Spirit Stream Guarding War had been a grand event for the sects of Kyushu. Thanks to the Heavenly Secret's balance, both large and small sects were eager to participate in such events.

“Are you okay?” Lu Ye turned to look at Hua Ci. He didn't see any obvious external injuries, but she was a bit dusty and dishevelled. Hua Ci shook her head. Although her cultivation was one level lower than that seventh-layer spell cultivator's, it wasn't easy for the opponent to kill her. The spiritual artifact her Second Senior Sister had given her greatly enhanced her defensive power.

Together, they collected the spoils of war and began to survey the surrounding terrain. A moment later, the two stood at the highest point, looking around. They found it was a small island, not large, about the size of a public square. The vegetation on the island was very dense, but all around them was seawater. In such a confined terrain, it was impossible for anyone else to be hidden. In other words, besides them, there were only the two Demon Ridge cultivators who had just been killed. The spiritual energy on the island was rich, almost no different from the wild areas of the Spirit Stream Battlefield, which made it convenient for cultivation and recovery after battle.

“Chess Sea!” Lu Ye exhaled lightly, confirming the location of this Spirit Stream Guarding War. Each Spirit Stream Guarding War's pocket dimension was different. According to incomplete statistics from the major sects of Kyushu, up to now, there had been as many as thirty-four types of pocket dimensions appearing in the Spirit Stream Guarding War, including mountains and forests, deserts, swamps, plains, and oceans.

The Chess Sea was one of the most famous pocket dimensions because, in this vast sea whose location was unknown, small islands were scattered like chess pieces. The key was that these small islands were not stationary; they constantly drifted in the sea. As time passed, they would continuously merge with other islands, eventually turning small islands into medium ones, and medium islands into large ones. Until finally, all islands merged into one place, transforming into a single continent.

This was a very magical place, but it was not considered friendly to the cultivators participating in the Spirit Stream Guarding War. Because if it were other terrain, cultivators unable to fight anymore could choose to escape to the periphery, find a suitable place to hide, and wait for the Spirit Stream Guarding War to end. But the Chess Sea was different. The constant merging of islands was bound to cause cultivators from different factions to collide and then fight. Moreover, the sea of the Chess Sea contained various dangers, including ferocious and massive sea demon beasts. Therefore, hiding in the sea was also not advisable. Furthermore, before those small islands fully merged, one could not rashly fly. Because flying over the sea consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power, one's spiritual power might be depleted before traveling too far. Therefore, in the Chess Sea, even the Guardian Envoys from the core circle had no way to take the initiative to attack. Everyone could only patiently wait for their island to merge with others.

If one were to rank the Spirit Stream Guarding War's casualty rates by different pocket dimensions, then the Chess Sea would definitely be firmly in the top three. Lu Ye didn't know what other cultivators would think after learning this place was the Chess Sea, but he and Hua Ci exchanged glances, and both saw the same joyful excitement in each other's eyes.

“I’m going to plant mushrooms,” Hua Ci said, and with a joyful expression, she headed towards the center of the small island. Since he was participating in the Spirit Stream Guarding War with Hua Ci, they had naturally learned about each other and understood each other's methods for both killing enemies and self-preservation. Hua Ci didn't have many methods for killing enemies, and it was difficult for her to slay powerful foes in a very short time like Lu Ye could. However, if given enough time and space to set up, she could exert an effect far exceeding the sixth-layer level. Planting mushrooms was her most powerful method.

Previously, in Ying Mountain, those Demon Ridge cultivators were unknowingly 'planted with mushrooms' by Hua Ci. If Lu Ye had arrived a few days later, once Hua Ci had everything prepared, she herself would have been capable of killing those three Demon Ridge cultivators, making them die without even realizing it. However, due to Lu Ye's arrival, Hua Ci could only hastily deploy incomplete methods. Even so, it still caused the seventh-layer cultivator to become greatly distraught.

After learning about Hua Ci's ability, Lu Ye was secretly astonished. Who would have thought that a medical cultivator, whose duty was to heal the sick and aid the injured, would possess such bizarre methods? This also gave him a new understanding and perspective on medical cultivators, especially wild and self-taught medical cultivators like Hua Ci. On the surface, they might appear gentle and kind, but in reality, they might possess the ability to slaughter cities and destroy nations. It could be said that the Chess Sea pocket dimension was extremely friendly to cultivators like Hua Ci, and was the most suitable place for her to exert her abilities. This was Lu Ye's luck. Before coming in, he hadn't known that the location of this Spirit Stream Guarding War would be the Chess Sea.

Hua Ci was busy, not only planting mushrooms but also collecting medicinal herbs. The spiritual energy in the Chess Sea was extremely rich, suitable for medicinal herb growth. Even if cultivators didn't kill enemies, collecting medicinal herbs here was still a source of income. Lu Ye stood guard nearby. The small island was so small that one could see its end at a glance, so guarding it was not difficult.

However, he could indeed feel that the small island was drifting in one direction at a decent speed. He was very curious how this island was floating on the sea; it wasn't a boat, so its underside couldn't possibly be hollow. His battlefield imprint suddenly reacted. Lu Ye checked and found it was a message from his Fourth Senior Brother, Li Baxian. As the Deputy Guardian Envoy of the Pill Heart Sect, Li Baxian had naturally also come to participate in the Spirit Stream Guarding War, and was now also in the Chess Sea, though certainly in the very center. In the message, Li Baxian informed him of various intelligence regarding the Chess Sea, and at the end, he admonished: “Junior Brother, act within your capabilities, and never overexert yourself.” Lu Ye replied, thanking him.

Hua Ci had already completed her setup. With nothing else to do, Lu Ye simply switched his cultivation technique and began to cultivate. Before merging with other islands, there would be no danger here. An hour later, Hua Ci suddenly called out to him. Lu Ye stopped cultivating, dashed to the highest point, and stood beside Hua Ci. Following her gaze, he looked in that direction; as far as his eyes could see, a small black speck was moving towards them. It was another small island drifting over, or rather, the two islands were attracting each other and moving closer.

The distance was still somewhat far, so they couldn't clearly see the situation on it for now, nor did they know if there were any enemies. The sea wind howled, and their mouths and noses were filled with a salty, fishy smell. Lu Ye silently estimated that at this speed, it would likely take less than half an hour for the two islands to collide. Lu Ye thought for a moment, then put the Pan Mountain Blade from his waist into his storage bag, and stood side by side with Hua Ci. After the two islands approached a certain distance, they suddenly accelerated, as if there was some mutual attraction between them. At this distance, Lu Ye could also see the situation on the opposite island. Similarly, two people were standing at a high point, looking towards them.