Chapter 190: Prepared

Fantasy Novel

After exchanging names with the body cultivator who was receiving treatment,陆叶 learned that the other party was Gao Tai, a garrison officer from an eighth-grade sect in Dingzhou.

Upon learning Lu Ye's identity, Gao Tai was surprised, "So you're Lu Yiye of the Blood Sect! The battle at Golden Light Peak two months ago certainly caused quite a stir."

Lu Ye was now too lazy to correct others' pronunciations of his name. Once a reputation spread, it was impossible to deny.

Lan Yudie was the deputy garrison officer, and Gao Tai was the garrison officer. Originally, two others were traveling with them. In the previous fight with the several cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, those two had already died. Their belongings were still with Lu Ye, so he immediately had Lan Yudie and Gao Tai identify and reclaim the two men's storage bags.

Though they had narrowly escaped death, the loss of their companions left Lan Yudie and Gao Tai feeling somewhat low.

After conversing with them, Lu Ye learned that they had been fortunate. They had met up early on and, combining the strength of four, had managed to kill several cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge until they encountered the group Lu Ye had just fought.

There were four of them, but six opponents. With similar cultivation levels, the other side clearly had the advantage. If Lu Ye hadn't suddenly intervened, the two of them would have died there.

"Do either of you recognize this?" Lu Ye asked, tossing a bone shard to each of them.

Lan Yudie and Gao Tai took them, examined them, and both shook their heads. The former asked, "What is this?"

"I don't know either," Lu Ye said, playing with the two bone shards in his hand. "I found them over there."

He had previously collected two bone shards, and when he cleaned up the battlefield just now, he found two more. One was from the spell cultivator he had ambushed and killed, and the other was from the corpse of another Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator who had been killed before Lu Ye arrived, one of the three bodies lying on the ground.

When Lu Ye explained his discovery, Lan Yudie and Gao Tai looked surprised and suspicious, "You mean you've already found these bone shards on people from four different sects?"

"If those two weren't from the same sect, then yes, it's four sects!"

"What exactly is this?" Lan Yudie infused spiritual power into it, but there was no reaction. She squeezed it hard, also no reaction. She even tried to cut it with her short saber several times, but couldn't break it.

"I've never seen it before. Perhaps it's a spiritual material we don't recognize," Gao Tai speculated.

"But why would it appear on people from four different sects?" Lan Yudie noticed the problem.

Lu Ye also wanted to know the reason but couldn't find an answer. Hua Ci had previously speculated that the two Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators might be related by blood, but now it seemed that guess was unreliable. It made no sense for four people to be related by blood and also be disciples of four different sects.

Ultimately, he could only set it aside for now. He planned to ask his fourth senior brother, who was well-informed and should have some clues.

While Lan Yudie and Gao Tai recuperated, Lu Ye kept watch and sent a message to his fourth senior brother. As for Hua Ci, she had gone out to plant mushrooms again. Currently, the island's area wasn't too large, so she could control it. But if the area became too big, she wouldn't be able to plant mushrooms everywhere, only concentrating them in a specific region.

His fourth senior brother hadn't replied yet. Lu Ye guessed he might be fighting someone. Lu Ye wasn't worried about this; over these past few days, he had learned more about the cultivation world. He knew about the Spiritual Stream List and that his fourth senior brother was the tenth strongest on it.

It was said that the garrison officer from the Danxin Sect was a monster ranked first on the Spiritual Stream List. With these two together, very few people in the Chess Sea could pose a threat to them.

After a moment, a reply came through the mark.

"Just fought someone. What's up, Junior Brother?" His fourth senior brother's tone was relaxed; the person he fought clearly hadn't fared well.

Lu Ye then thoroughly recounted his discoveries and asked his fourth senior brother about the bone shards. Unexpectedly, before he could describe them in detail, his fourth senior brother had already described the bone shards' characteristics.

"You have them too, Senior Brother?" Lu Ye was a little surprised.

"Just found one."

Lu Ye suddenly had a bad feeling. His location was the periphery of the Chess Sea, while his senior brother was at the center. The same bone shards appearing on different Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators and in different parts of the Chess Sea clearly indicated something.

"I haven't seen this thing before either. I'll go ask around and let you know when I have an answer."

"Okay!"

Ending the communication with his fourth senior brother, Lu Ye rubbed the bone shards in his hand, thought for a moment, and put them into his storage bag.

Two hours later, another small island drifted towards them. Its size was not as large as theirs, indicating it hadn't merged many times.

However, after they became attached, Lu Ye discovered that the newcomers were cultivators from the Haotian Alliance, only two of them, and both were injured, seemingly having gone through a fierce battle.

When they converged, they were overjoyed to learn that Lu Ye's group actually had a healer.

They had originally prepared for a desperate fight, as with their current state, they would certainly suffer if they encountered cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. They didn't expect such good luck, encountering not only people from the Haotian Alliance but also a healing cultivator who saved lives and healed injuries.

Hua Ci treated their injuries, and the two were naturally immensely grateful.

Thus, six cultivators were now gathered on the island. This greatly increased everyone's sense of security. Even if they encountered a group of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators again, they wouldn't be without the power to fight. And if they did, it was uncertain which side would have more people.

At the same time, throughout the Chess Sea, intense battles erupted on islands of varying sizes. Each battle ended with the annihilation of one side's cultivators.

Looking at the overall situation in the Chess Sea, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge clearly held an absolute advantage because many of their cultivators had converged. In contrast, few Haotian Alliance cultivators could rendezvous with their own faction; most encountered enemy cultivators. Even if they won one battle, another awaited them.

As the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators continuously merged, they often formed situations where they outnumbered their opponents. This led to even more severe casualties for the Haotian Alliance. Once encountered, they generally had little power to resist.

About half a day later, a major battle broke out. There were six people on their side and six on the opposing side, equal in number. However, outwardly, their side was clearly at a disadvantage.

Leaving aside Lu Ye and Hua Ci, who were in the Sixth-Level Realm, the remaining four were all injured. Although Hua Ci had treated them, it would still take several days for them to fully recover.

After a brief probing engagement, Lu Ye and the others collapsed like a crumbling mountain, retreating to the rear of their island. The six cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, seeing this, pursued relentlessly with overwhelming momentum.

The result... was chaos!

When these six stepped into the mushroom zone planted by Hua Ci, their demise was sealed.

Even though Lan Yudie and Gao Tai had witnessed such a scene once before, they were still somewhat unaccustomed to it. The two Haotian Alliance cultivators who were seeing it for the first time were utterly horrified.

Fortunately, despite their horror, they showed no mercy in their attacks.

In this major battle, everyone gained something, and everyone was beaming with smiles. They were already grateful to Hua Ci, and their expressions became even more amiable.

Having a healer stationed in the rear in such a place truly provided a sense of security. Not to mention, this healer also possessed a mysterious ability that could weaken enemies. Hua Ci's contribution to making this battle so effortless was immeasurable.

Afterward, when tallying the spoils of war, no one took anything, handing it all over to Hua Ci. For them, being able to kill enemies and receive merit points and the blessings of the Heavenly Machine Pillar was already a huge gain. No one felt it appropriate to share the spoils.

Hua Ci naturally tried to decline, but others insisted so strongly that she could only accept with a smile.

After this battle, the few realized Hua Ci's importance. After discussing with Lu Ye, they finally decided that in future battles, one person would be specifically assigned to protect Hua Ci closely, which truly made Lu Ye feel what it meant to be treated differently.

However, this was also something he was happy about. Hua Ci's strength was somewhat lacking, so having someone specially protect her would make her safer.

After the major battle, they naturally rested and recovered.

Just then, a message arrived. Lu Ye checked it and found it was from his fourth senior brother.

"Quickly discard those bone shards! Those things can affect the chess islands in the Chess Sea. The chess islands held by those who possess bone shards will attract each other and move closer. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators are using these bone shards to constantly converge. This time, the Haotian Alliance is in trouble during the Spiritual Stream Garrison Battle!"

Upon seeing this message, Lu Ye was stunned. He had previously felt that the bone shards were strange, but he hadn't expected them to have such a miraculous effect.

According to the information revealed by his fourth senior brother, these bone shards could actually affect the chess islands in the Chess Sea. The chess islands where people holding these bone shards were located would approach each other and eventually merge, allowing the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators to snowball and grow stronger.

Combining his previous experiences, Lu Ye immediately judged that his fourth senior brother must be right. The four bone shards he obtained belonged to different Ten Thousand Demons Ridge factions, yet they could converge in the Chess Sea. There might be an element of luck in this, but it was highly likely due to the bone shards' influence on the chess islands.

If that was the case... then the Haotian Alliance was truly in trouble this time during the Spiritual Stream Garrison Battle.

"Where did these bone shards come from? Have they never appeared before?" Lu Ye messaged back, asking.

"It seems they were accidentally discovered decades ago in the Chess Sea by people from a Ten Thousand Demons Ridge sect. This was originally the remains of a powerful sea demon beast. After they brought it back, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge somehow found a way to use the remains, grinding them into bone shards. They distributed them to various large and small sects for this garrison battle," his fourth senior brother urgently replied. "Junior Brother, please be very careful. Now, try to team up with other Haotian Alliance members as much as possible and hold on until all the chess islands merge. I'll come find you then!"

"I'm not in much danger here, Senior Brother. You be careful yourself," Lu Ye replied.

Ending the communication with Li Baxian, Lu Ye frowned deeply.

The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was definitely prepared this time. Before this, there had been no news of these bone shards. It was only when the Spiritual Stream Garrison Battle began that the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge suddenly launched their attack, clearly having planned this for a long time.