Chapter 199: Bloodstained

When his presence was exposed by Li Baxian, the young man knew he had no way out. His various gestures were merely meant to deceive Li Baxian. Now that his deception was called out, he stopped speaking, brandished the two curved blades in his hands, and adopted a combat stance: "Then come on."

Lu Ye raised his hand, resting it on his saber's hilt, then gripped it gently.

Li Baxian's voice echoed in his ear: "Be careful, Junior Brother. This guy is a Ghost Cultivator. Don't let his current Eighth-Level cultivation fool you; his true cultivation is actually Seventh-Level Heavenly Rank, and he's opened over 240 spirit apertures. Of course, because of the Heavenly Mechanism's suppression at this location, he can only exert the strength of a regular Eighth-Level cultivator. However, his combat experience isn't suppressed, and his strength and speed are far superior to an ordinary Eighth-Level cultivator. Even if you can defeat a regular Eighth-Level opponent, you might not be a match for him."

"I know!" Lu Ye replied. As he spoke, gravel scattered under his feet as he lunged towards the sinister-looking young man. He didn't care what Li Baxian's reasons were for making him face such an opponent alone. With the Spirit Stream Outpost Defense Battle nearing its end, he naturally had to cherish such a rare opportunity to kill an enemy.

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye's movement, a streak of light shot forth, reaching him in an instant.

His long saber unsheathed, Lu Ye struck out. As sparks flew, he felt a powerful force surge towards him, his thumb web instantly splitting. The Mountain-Shattering Saber in his hand was violently knocked upwards. Following the momentum of the force, Lu Ye swept his saber upwards, deflecting the streak of light that had aimed for his chest.

The streak of light was, in fact, one of the opponent's curved blades. The previous strike was merely the power of his spirit artifact manipulation. The curved blade spun through the air, but a wound had already appeared on Lu Ye's chest, bleeding. He had been injured by the sheer force of the curved blade's blow.

Before he could steady himself, a figure blurred before his eyes, and the sinister young man had already lunged close, moving incredibly fast! Ghost Cultivators were inherently known for their speed, and this was a Seventh-Level Heavenly Rank Ghost Cultivator. While the Heavenly Mechanism's suppression indeed limited him to Eighth-Level strength, even with that suppression, his speed was unmatched by an ordinary Eighth-Level cultivator.

The opponent's other curved blade already came chopping towards him. Lu Ye raised his saber to block, a clang resounded, and he stumbled backward. At the same time, a strong gust of wind assailed the back of his head—the curved blade he had deflected had come flying back. For Lu Ye, the art of spirit artifact manipulation was practically insurmountable at this moment.

Hua Ci looked tense. Li Baxian had already conjured a streak of sword light. Although he had allowed Lu Ye to confront the Ghost Cultivator, he wouldn't simply stand by. If Lu Ye's life were truly in danger, he would certainly intervene.

Just as the returning curved blade was about to pierce the back of Lu Ye's head, a spirit rune abruptly appeared. A cracking sound was heard. As the defense rune shattered, Lu Ye ducked his head down, narrowly avoiding the decapitating blow, a few strands of broken hair floating away. Simultaneously, he thrust his long saber forward, fiery red spiritual energy clinging to it as the sharp spirit rune was activated.

The Ghost Cultivator sidestepped the attack. The curved blade flipped in his hand like a living thing, slicing through the flesh on Lu Ye's arm at an unbelievable angle, drawing streams of blood. Barely three breaths into the fight, Lu Ye already had two more wounds on his body. Although the injuries weren't severe, it was clear that there was a significant disparity in their strengths. If the fight continued like this, Lu Ye's situation would only worsen.

Feng Yuechan calmly glanced at Li Baxian, her eyes seeking his opinion. Li Baxian slowly shook his head. It wasn't time to intervene yet. The main reason he wanted Lu Ye to fight this Ghost Cultivator was that it was a rare opportunity. Although he had instructed Lu Ye for twenty days at the Blood Sect, that was still a senior brother teaching a junior brother. Even if he was harsh and repeatedly injured Lu Ye, it was difficult for Lu Ye to truly experience the feeling of being on the brink of death, because both of them knew Li Baxian wouldn't actually kill him.

However, the current situation was different. Lu Ye was fighting a cultivator from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, and if he wasn't careful, he could genuinely die. As a soldier cultivator, if one couldn't get used to the feeling of walking the line between life and death, it would be difficult to break through one's own limitations. Nevertheless, the current situation made Li Baxian secretly hesitant. He wondered if he had been too rash, picking an opponent that was too strong for Lu Ye. His junior brother might stand a chance against an ordinary Eighth-Level cultivator with his current strength, but facing the current opponent was indeed tough. Fortunately, despite being completely on the defensive, Lu Ye's fighting spirit showed no signs of waning.

In a flash, the two exchanged several more blows. The Ghost Cultivator was significantly stronger than Lu Ye in both speed and power, and his ability to manipulate spirit artifacts truly put Lu Ye in a difficult spot. He gradually grew accustomed to his opponent's rhythm. Though unable to turn the tide, he managed to block the opponent's spirit artifact attacks several times with his defense runes, seizing opportunities to counterattack.

Amidst the clanging of weapons, the Ghost Cultivator suddenly recalled the curved blade he had sent flying. He realized that this Blood Sect cultivator, famous throughout Golden Light Peak, was indeed formidable, with actual strength far exceeding the Sixth Level. He had initially thought he could easily deal with him and had even decided to capture Lu Ye and use him as a hostage to secure his own escape. He dared not delay any longer. Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian were watching menacingly from the side, putting immense pressure on him.

In such close-quarters combat, the power of spirit artifact manipulation was limited. It was better to recall the blade. With both curved blades in hand, his attack speed suddenly increased significantly. Lu Ye immediately suffered greatly, accumulating more wounds on his body. But as the number of his wounds increased, the speed and force of his saber strikes surprisingly also grew, and the spiritual energy clinging to his blade became noticeably denser.

After about ten more breaths, Lu Ye slowly found his footing and was surprisingly able to exchange blows with his opponent. The Ghost Cultivator was filled with astonishment, completely unable to comprehend how Lu Ye could have improved so dramatically in such a short time. After another ten or so breaths, he discovered with horror that in the contest of speed and power, he was actually starting to be at a disadvantage! Amidst the clash of spirit artifacts, not only was Lu Ye getting injured, but wounds were also gradually appearing on the Ghost Cultivator's body.

At this moment, the blade of the Mountain-Shattering Saber was crimson, as if it had fully consumed blood. If one observed closely, they would also notice a faint blood aura rising from Lu Ye's body. The Ghost Cultivator finally realized something was amiss and exclaimed, "A blood artifact?"

A "blood artifact" was a special kind of spirit artifact engraved with blood sacrifice runes. Its power would increase after its owner was injured or actively offered their own blood. The more blood a blood artifact consumed, the greater its power. So, seeing the transformation of the Mountain-Shattering Saber in Lu Ye's hand, the Ghost Cultivator immediately assumed it was a blood artifact. While powerful, activating a blood artifact's power carried immense danger for the user, as it would continuously consume blood, potentially leading to death by blood depletion if one wasn't careful. Therefore, blood artifacts were not well-regarded in the cultivation world, and ordinary cultivators would not use such spirit artifacts.

Even the Ghost Cultivator noticed that something was off with the Mountain-Shattering Saber, and Li Baxian naturally did too, his expression turning grave. He had only wanted Lu Ye to gain some experience fighting a strong enemy. Who would have thought that his junior brother had even activated a blood artifact? This was bad. If it damaged his junior brother's foundation and vitality, his Second Senior Sister would definitely smash his head in.

"It's not a blood artifact, Fourth Senior Brother, rest assured," Hua Ci's voice resounded.

"Then what is it?" Li Baxian asked.

Hua Ci explained, "Lu Ye has mastered a spirit rune called 'Blood Stained.' What he's activating now is likely the power of that rune." Earlier, at Madam Yun's, Lu Ye had revealed information about the four spirit runes he had mastered, and Hua Ci, being present, naturally remembered this.

"Blood Stained?" Li Baxian frowned. He didn't know much about spirit runes, lacking the patience to study them, so he didn't know what a 'Blood Stained' spirit rune was. But as long as the saber wasn't a blood artifact, it was fine.

Clanging sounds echoed, and the battle continued. Lu Ye was covered in wounds from head to toe, but strangely, all the blood flowing from his injuries turned into a bloody mist, not a single drop falling. If one were to open Lu Ye's robes at this moment, they would see a complex spirit rune slowly revolving on his chest. This rune was entirely formed from blood, and a bloody mist swirled around him, turning his eyes crimson. The Blood Stained spirit rune was not imbued into the Mountain-Shattering Saber but rather applied to Lu Ye's own body.

As his own blood continuously atomized, Lu Ye's saber strikes became faster and more powerful, far exceeding his own limits. The situation completely reversed. The Ghost Cultivator, who had previously held the absolute advantage, now found himself only able to parry Lu Ye's saber strikes, with no power to counterattack.

After a fierce exchange, Lu Ye struck the Ghost Cultivator in the chest with a saber, a scream escaped, and the Ghost Cultivator stumbled back several steps, a massive gash on his chest bleeding profusely. Looking up, he saw a pair of eyes glowing with red light before him. From within the figure shrouded in bloody mist, the long saber descended like a furious storm. He roared and raised his spirit artifact to block.

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh was heard. Lu Ye held his saber, having already appeared behind the Ghost Cultivator. He landed lightly, shook off the bloodstains from the Mountain-Shattering Saber, and sheathed it. Behind him, the Ghost Cultivator's body stiffened, maintaining his defensive posture, then fell stiffly to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.

The bloody mist enveloping Lu Ye suddenly dispersed, revealing his figure that had been hidden by it. His body went limp, and before he could collapse to the ground, Li Baxian caught him.

"Exhausted!" Lu Ye explained, his face rapidly turning pale from too much blood loss.

Li Baxian's expression was complex. After a long moment of silence, he finally said, "Junior Brother, you really went all out." This outcome was completely unexpected for him. Even when Lu Ye had previously claimed he could kill an Eighth-Level cultivator, Li Baxian had dismissed it as youthful arrogance, always ready to intervene in the fight. Yet, his junior brother had actually killed the opponent! Killed him all by himself! That was simply too fierce. That was a Seventh-Level Heavenly Rank cultivator! Even when suppressed, he wouldn't be weaker than an ordinary Ninth-Level cultivator.

Li Baxian suddenly realized that he might have underestimated his junior brother.