Chapter 227: Want Fairness

After Hua Ci and Cao Huahong divided the blessings from the Feng family's Heavenly Mystery Pillar, hundreds of cultivators began to withdraw in an orderly fashion. As usual, Lu Ye stayed behind to cover their retreat, casting Fire Dragon Arts one after another, using the rampant spiritual power to attract the attention of the insectoids.

Soon, his location was completely surrounded.

If not for the Winged Tattoo, he would never dare to do this. Cultivators surrounded by such a large swarm before they can fly, no matter how strong, find it difficult to fight effectively and will eventually die.

But with the wings, it was different; if he couldn't win, he could fly away. Thanks to Madam Yun and the Sect Master, this tattoo had helped him immensely.

Only after the hundreds of cultivators from the Blood Sect had retreated to a safe distance did Lu Ye soar into the sky, transforming into a red streak of light and quickly disappearing.

The insectoids pursued for a while, but lost their target, gradually stopped, and began to act on instinct.

The Heavenly Fiend Hall's outpost to the north was breached, with countless cultivators killed or injured, effectively crippling it.

The Feng family's outpost to the east was breached again; although not many died, the losses were still significant.

These two neighbors of the Blood Sect could be said to have suffered greatly.

Lu Ye was not ready to lead the insectoid swarm anywhere else for now, as the Blood Sect had been constantly fighting and moving, and the cultivators were exhausted; they needed to rest first.

Moreover, considering the time, most major sects had nearly dealt with their insectoid swarms. At this point, even if he led the swarm to another Myriad Demon Ridge territory, it would be difficult to achieve the same effect as before.

What needed to be dealt with now was the Feng family!

Although the Feng family's outpost had been captured, not many had died. How could this be? They were all neighbors of the Blood Sect, and the Heavenly Fiend Hall had suffered so much; the Blood Sect couldn't show favoritism, they had to be fair to everyone, otherwise, it would be unfair to the Heavenly Fiend Hall!

Ding Yushu was still blocking their cave entrance with his cultivators. Now, what the Blood Sect needed to do was meet up with the Boundless Pavilion and then trap and eliminate them, aiming to resolve the situation in one go and eliminate the Feng family as well.

In this way, the Blood Sect could become the sole dominant power within a hundred-mile radius in the future.

Flying along the direction the group had withdrawn, he soon reunited with the team.

"Fellow Daoist Lu!" Cao Huahong cupped his fists, a wide smile on his face. He was in an excellent mood, feeling as if the air around him was sweet.

"How are things over there?"

Cao Huahong informed him about the situation at the wormhole. The Feng family members there were currently desperate; they had already heard the news of their outpost being breached, but they were still completely confused about which force had captured it.

The incident happened too suddenly. The Feng family cultivators who remained, after their protective array was breached, were either quickly killed or returned to the Nine Provinces via the Heavenly Mystery Pillar, with no time to identify the attackers.

The only one captured, Feng Yue, had indeed regained her composure and deduced Lu Ye's identity from the large white tiger, but how could she dare to send out a message now?

Chen Yu and Kong Niu were watching her, one on her left and one on her right; if she made any rash move, a sword and a saber would come down on her.

Mixed in with the hundreds of cultivators from the Blood Sect, even though Feng Yue was at the Seventh Layer, she felt like a lamb among wolves—helpless and weak.

The hundreds of cultivators trapped in the wormhole had previously attempted to charge out several times under Feng Lianju's leadership, but they were all driven back by the Boundless Pavilion members, suffering many casualties.

The current situation there was a standoff: one side couldn't break out, and the other side didn't dare to venture down rashly, leading to a stalemate.

Hearing this, Lu Ye couldn't help but frown. This situation was indeed difficult to resolve; it seemed he still needed to find a way.

A unique fragrance wafted into his nostrils; Lu Ye knew without turning his head that Hua Ci was approaching on her mechanical wolf.

"How's the haul?"

"Not bad!" Hua Ci nodded, then added, "Your haul isn't small either."

"Oh?"

"Didn't you capture a 'bandit queen'?" Hua Ci gestured forward with her chin. "I heard she's the Feng family's Guardian."

"Why 'bandit queen'?" Lu Ye was about to retort when his eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly took a few steps, approached Feng Yue, and whispered something to her.

Feng Yue first nodded, then immediately shook her head, her expression panicked.

Lu Ye drew his saber, emanating killing intent. Feng Yue vigorously shook her head, tears welling in her eyes, looking pitiable.

The Mountain Breaker Saber was drawn, fire-red spiritual power clinging to it. Feng Yue stood still and closed her eyes.

After waiting for a moment, she felt no cut. When she opened her eyes again, Lu Ye was no longer beside her. She let out a long breath, having escaped death, and her legs felt weak again.

Not far behind her, Lu Ye frowned.

He had originally intended to use Feng Yue. Since she was the Feng family's Guardian, she must have some prestige among their cultivators. If he made her relay false information to the Feng family members in the wormhole, he might be able to trick them into coming up. Then, the Blood Sect, in alliance with the Boundless Pavilion, could slaughter all the Feng family cultivators.

Lu Ye had thought this would likely be no problem, because from Feng Yue's previous behavior, she seemed to be someone who feared death.

Who would have thought Lu Ye had misjudged her? Although she had knelt and begged for mercy the moment she saw Lu Ye, when asked to deceive her own clan's cultivators, she showed strong resistance, as if she would rather die than cooperate.

When it came to her own safety, she could kneel and beg for mercy as a medical cultivator to save her life, but when it concerned the Feng family, she had her own principles and convictions.

Lu Ye couldn't really chop her down...

Moving forward, they soon reached the Feng family's wormhole, where the cultivators from both sects gathered, their numbers exceeding a thousand.

Lu Ye and Ding Yushu stood together at the wormhole entrance, peering down. Ding Yushu explained the current situation to him, which was largely similar to what Cao Huahong had said.

"So this is the situation now, Brother Yi Ye, do you have any good ideas?"

"I'll go down and take a look."

Saying this, he leaped down.

Ding Yushu's eyes nearly popped out. Such audacity...

Peering down, he saw flashes of spiritual power below and intense spiritual fluctuations spreading out. Immediately followed by Lu Ye's figure soaring skyward and landing lightly, he wasn't injured, though a bit disheveled.

Although it was only a fleeting glance, Lu Ye still saw many Feng family cultivators guarding near the entrance; whoever went down would die. If he didn't have the Defensive Spiritual Mark, he wouldn't dare act so rashly.

"Is there any way to make the underground passage collapse?"

If that could be achieved, then all the Feng family members would be buried alive inside.

Ding Yushu shook his head and said, "I've thought about it, but with our strength, we can't do it; the underground passage is too deep."

He sighed and said, "If it really doesn't work, we'll have to give up. We can't stay here indefinitely; strong cultivators from the Feng family will definitely rush over from the inner or core circles. If they have enough merit points, they might have already returned to their outpost via the Heavenly Mystery Pillar's teleportation. Of course, the probability of that happening is small."

Merit points are hard to come by, and cultivators have many places to spend them, so most people don't accumulate too many.

Lu Ye knew this well. The Heavenly Mystery Pillar itself has teleportation capabilities; cultivators can use an allied sect's Heavenly Mystery Pillar to teleport back to their own sect, with the cost in merit points varying depending on the distance and cultivation level.

He hadn't tried it himself, but he knew it required a significant amount of merit points.

The Heavenly Fiend Hall and Feng family, both captured by the Blood Sect, couldn't possibly have only a few cultivators at the Spirit Creek Realm; the strong cultivators of both families were training in the inner or core circles.

Upon hearing that their outposts were captured, they would certainly return and were likely already on their way back.

If the Blood Sect and Boundless Pavilion continued to block this place, the greatest possibility was that they would encounter a group of strong cultivators returning from the inner or core circles, at which point the situation would turn unfavorable for them.

Not far away, Feng Yue was listening intently, secretly rejoicing. This was the right way to think: "Just leave quickly. As long as the Blood Sect and Boundless Pavilion withdraw, it'll be a win-win for everyone."

Although the Feng family's outpost had been captured, the casualties among their clan members weren't too severe. As long as there were people, there would always be a chance to rise again.

"I'm a bit unwilling," Lu Ye shook his head.

Ding Yushu chuckled, "There's nothing we can do about it."

"Let me think again."

After finally trapping the Feng family here, it would be a shame to just let them go. As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Feng Yue. Feng Yue quickly lowered her head, meek and obedient, like a young wife who had been scolded.

This woman... why is she so stubborn?

Just then, Ding Yushu and Cao Huahong both suddenly looked down at their Battle Marks, their expressions simultaneously turning serious.

Cao Huahong called out in a low voice, "Senior Brother."

"Understood," Ding Yushu replied, then looked at Lu Ye and said, "Brother Yi Ye, the Boundless Pavilion's outpost is under attack; we need to leave!"

Lu Ye was surprised, "Who's attacking you?"

"Ten Forms Mountain!"

Lu Ye naturally had some knowledge of the outposts of nearby forces. With just a slight recollection, he knew that Ten Forms Mountain was a Myriad Demon Ridge force bordering the Boundless Pavilion, located to its north.

"Why would Ten Forms Mountain attack at this time..." Lu Ye didn't finish his sentence when he suddenly realized and glanced at Feng Yue.

Ding Yushu also looked coldly at Feng Yue, "Naturally, someone revealed our movements!"

He quickly gathered his disciples and cupped his fists to Lu Ye, saying, "If there's a chance next time, we'll cooperate with Brother Yi Ye again."

"No need to rush," Lu Ye said. "We'll go together. If we can't kill the Feng family members, killing those from Ten Forms Mountain is just as good!"

Ding Yushu was overjoyed, "That's excellent!"

Lu Ye rushed into the crowd, grabbed Feng Yue by her collar, and, amidst her terrified screams, tossed her onto Amber's back.

A dozen breaths later, over a thousand cultivators from both sides rushed towards the Boundless Pavilion's outpost. The once lively wormhole entrance suddenly became quiet.

Riding on Amber's back, Feng Yue's tense mood finally relaxed. She hadn't expected that her earlier, seemingly insignificant move would prove crucial at such a critical moment. Now that the Boundless Pavilion and Blood Sect members were gone, the Feng family members trapped in the wormhole were safe.

Using Amber's jostling as cover, Feng Yue glanced left and right, saw that no one was paying attention to her, and secretly sent out a message: "The Boundless Pavilion's outpost is under attack by Ten Forms Mountain. Cultivators from both sects are rushing to the Boundless Pavilion. Run quickly!"

She didn't notice that Lu Ye was also secretly communicating with Ding Yushu.