Chapter 200: One Day to Fame

In the wilderness, Lu Ye lay flat on a large stone. Hua Ci knelt beside him, gently massaging his arm. As she worked, pure wood spiritual power surged into Lu Ye's body, penetrating deep into his muscles and repairing unseen internal injuries.

Li Baxian sat awkwardly to the side, while Feng Yuechan stood on guard nearby. Formations had already been set up around them.

There was no need to search for treasures now. After the recent battle, Lu Ye was quite injured and completely exhausted. His entire body ached immensely, and at that moment, he didn't even have the strength to move a finger.

Lu Ye had acquired the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark earlier, knowing it would give him an extra means to deal with powerful enemies. However, he hadn't had the chance to test it until just now.

This spirit mark was indeed remarkable; it increased Lu Ye's strength by consuming his blood. The more blood it consumed, the greater the power boost.

The recent battle clearly showed its effects. When they first engaged, Lu Ye was no match for the ghost cultivator. The opponent was significantly stronger in both striking power and speed, and could even use spiritual artifacts.

However, as the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark continued to take effect, the gap between them gradually closed, allowing Lu Ye to even surpass his opponent.

Furthermore, Lu Ye felt that the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark's enhancement hadn't reached its limit; if it could consume more blood, the boost he received would be even greater.

In the future, if he encountered stronger opponents, as long as he wasn't instantly killed, he would have a chance to turn the tide of battle.

While the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark was powerful, its cost was equally evident.

Because he exerted power beyond his own limits, Lu Ye's muscles were damaged, and he had lost a significant amount of blood. Moreover, maintaining the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark consumed spiritual power rapidly. Unlike the Sharpness or Defense spirit marks, this one required continuous activation. If Lu Ye hadn't opened over eighty spiritual apertures and had a substantial spiritual power reserve, he wouldn't have been qualified to use this spirit mark in combat.

It was a one-shot deal, or rather, a trump card. Once activated, it was a fight to the death.

This was also a result of Lu Ye's recent persistent practice of tempering his body with the scales. Each time he cultivated in the training room, he would place the scales in the grooves of the spirit gathering formation, using the formation to activate the blood energy within the scales, which he would then absorb and refine to temper his physique. Otherwise, his injuries this time would likely have been far more severe.

As Hua Ci continued her treatment, Lu Ye slowly regained some strength. While enjoying her healing, he took out some dried meat and began to eat.

After that battle, he felt ravenously hungry, as if he could eat an entire ox.

With a large amount of food in his stomach, Lu Ye's face finally regained some color.

Half a day later, he slowly got up. Although he still felt weak, he was no longer in serious trouble. The aftermath of using the Blood-Stained Spirit Mark was too significant, so Lu Ye secretly decided never to use it again unless absolutely necessary.

Li Baxian watched him from the side and asked with concern, "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thank you, senior brother!" Without Li Baxian's oversight, he wouldn't have had the chance to fight such a powerful opponent. Having tasted the benefits, he couldn't help but want Li Baxian to take him to find more solitary cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge.

Such life-and-death combat greatly aided his personal growth.

However, even with Hua Ci's treatment, he hadn't fully recovered yet, so he suppressed that thought.

"If you're alright, shall I take you to see something good?"

"Sure."

The group of four continued their journey.

After traveling several tens of miles, Li Baxian's suppressed strength slowly recovered. Although not yet at his peak, flying with a spiritual artifact was no longer an issue.

He tossed out his wine gourd. As spiritual power surged around him, the gourd instantly grew larger, and he lightly leaped onto it.

Feng Yuechan followed closely. Hua Ci, with her mechanical wolf, also jumped on, and casually pulled the still-limp Lu Ye up with her.

"Rise!" Li Baxian low-called, and the gourd soared into the air, swiftly flying forward.

Traveling by spiritual artifact significantly shortened their journey time. The further inward they went, the less suppression Li Baxian experienced. In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he led Lu Ye and the others to a gathering of people. Judging by the scale, all the cultivators from the Haotian Alliance seemed to have gathered there. Traces of a major battle were evident around them, indicating that this place had clearly seen fierce combat.

The appearance of the iconic wine gourd spiritual artifact immediately drew many gazes.

Someone pointed at the wine gourd and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Feng have finally arrived! Now the people from Myriad Demon Ridge will have to give up hope."

As the gourd descended, many people who were meditating or resting rose to greet them.

Li Baxian dismounted the gourd, looked up at a large tree ahead, and asked, "How are things?"

A brawny body cultivator replied, "Myriad Demon Ridge was somewhat persistent before and launched several strong assaults, but after being taught a few lessons, they settled down. Now that you've arrived, I doubt Myriad Demon Ridge will dare to show themselves easily again."

Li Baxian nodded slightly and greeted some of the people.

On the other side, many lower-level cultivators were also exchanging pleasantries with Lu Ye and Hua Ci. They had all fought alongside each other previously, and many had received healing from Hua Ci, naturally developing a strong fondness for the deputy guardian of the Bi Blood Sect. Not to mention, Hua Ci was also a beautiful woman with a gentle demeanor.

In the last major engagement with Myriad Demon Ridge, Lu Ye and Hua Ci had bravely flown over the enemy's formation and activated the arrangements they had left behind, securing victory in one fell swoop.

It could be said that the two members of the Bi Blood Sect were instrumental in the current favorable situation of the Haotian Alliance.

"These two must be Junior Brother Yi Ye and Junior Sister Hua Ci from the Bi Blood Sect, right?" The body cultivator who had been speaking with Li Baxian suddenly looked at Lu Ye.

Li Baxian smiled slightly and patted Lu Ye's shoulder. "Come, meet Senior Brother Meng Si. Meng Si is the guardian of the Zhengqi Sect, a Heavenly Rank Level Nine cultivator, and ranked eighteenth on the Spirit Stream Ranking."

This was a high ranking. Lu Ye and Hua Ci saluted together. As for the Zhengqi Sect, Lu Ye was already very familiar with it; it was a first-grade sect of the Haotian Alliance in Bing Province, and its vice-master, Pang Zhen, was even the vice-leader of the Haotian Alliance, overseeing all matters, large and small, in the cultivation world of Bing Province.

Meng Si nodded slightly. "Descendants of renowned sects are indeed extraordinary. You two have rendered great service in this Spirit Stream Guardian Battle. On behalf of the Bing Province cultivation world, I sincerely thank you both!"

As he spoke, he bowed solemnly to Lu Ye and Hua Ci.

Behind him, a group of Heavenly Rank Level Eight and Nine cultivators from Bing Province also bowed.

Lu Ye and Hua Ci were somewhat at a loss. Before either of them could speak, another cultivator with an ethereal aura said, "The Ding Province cultivation world thanks the two junior brother and sister from the Bi Blood Sect."

Someone else added, "The Yun Province cultivation world thanks the two junior brother and sister from the Bi Blood Sect."

"The Lei Province cultivation world thanks the two junior brother and sister from the Bi Blood Sect."

"Wuzhou..."

Wave after wave of cultivators bowed, rising and falling like grass in the wind.

Lu Ye and Hua Ci exchanged a look, then bowed back together with solemn expressions.

Li Baxian watched from the side, knowing that his junior brother and sister had, in a single day, become famous throughout the land.

Unlike the previous Golden Light Peak incident, where the cultivation world had acknowledged the Bi Blood Sect's past merits and numerous sects collaborated to protect the sect's last Spirit Stream Realm disciple, ensuring his safety.

That was a legacy left by the Bi Blood Sect from years ago.

However, in this Spirit Stream Guardian Battle, Lu Ye and Hua Ci had brought glory to their sect through their own abilities.

Thoughts churned in Li Baxian's mind as he recalled a vague yet towering figure. "Senior Brother, Senior Brother," he mused, "if you have a spirit in heaven, you can rest easy. The flag of the Bi Blood Sect... has not fallen! Decades later, someone has taken up this great banner, carried it high, and is waving it, letting it flutter above the Haotian Alliance."

"Junior Brother and Sister, if you ever decide to train in the core zone later, just let us know. You're welcome at the Zhengqi Sect's outpost," Meng Si said again.

"You can also come to my Bi Yun Palace outpost."

Others also chimed in, offering their outposts for training.

Lu Ye naturally thanked them profusely. Training in the core zone was inevitable. Currently, at the sixth level, he could still spend some time in the outer zone. However, once he reached the seventh level of cultivation, he would have to consider entering the inner zone. And once he reached the ninth level and transitioned to Heavenly-tier cultivation methods, he would then proceed to the core zone.

With the favor gained from this Spirit Stream Guardian Battle, he would have many more options for where to train in the future.

After quite some time, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Only then did Lu Ye have the chance to ask the question on his mind.

"Senior brother, what kind of spiritual tree is this? The fruits on it smell so good."

He had noticed it when following Li Baxian here: there was a fruit tree with nine fruits on it, emitting a fragrance that could be smelled from miles away.

Lu Ye had long known that the Chess Sea contained rare heavenly and earthly treasures. Many things were unique to the Chess Sea and could not be found in the Nine Provinces or the Spirit Stream Battlefield. However, since entering the Chess Sea, he hadn't seen any particularly special treasures.

Those good things were probably taken by others long ago.

It wasn't until now, upon seeing this fruit tree, that it was clearly some kind of treasure.

"This is a Rest Fruit," Li Baxian explained. "It's a good find."

Feng Yuechan added, "Rest Fruits are very rare; they only grow in the Chess Sea, and not every time it opens. The last time the Chess Sea opened, there were no Rest Fruits. Its pulp has extremely strong restorative properties. For example, if your Fourth Senior Brother completely exhausted his spiritual power, just one bite of the pulp would likely restore it."

"That's truly impressive," Lu Ye exclaimed in surprise. Although his Fourth Senior Brother was at the Heavenly Rank Level Eight, it was only because one of his spiritual apertures was damaged, preventing his advancement. All of his spiritual apertures were already open, and in terms of spiritual power reserves, he was no different from other Heavenly Rank Level Nine powerhouses.

If even a powerhouse like Fourth Senior Brother could fully restore his spiritual power with just one bite of the pulp, then for someone at the sixth level like himself, merely nibbling on some of the fruit peel would probably yield the same effect.

When fighting powerful enemies, spiritual power recovery is key to endurance. If both sides were exhausted, and one suddenly took a bite of this Rest Fruit, the other side would likely be driven to despair.

This fruit would definitely be a lifesaver at certain times.

"While the pulp is precious," Li Baxian said, "the truly valuable part of the Rest Fruit is its core."