Chapter 231: Why Is No One Coming to Redeem You

After Feng Yue was brought to the outpost, Lu Ye no longer paid her any mind. He didn't even have anyone watch her. He had initially thought of breaking her legs if she dared to escape, but she showed no intention of fleeing at all. Every day, she would simply sit around, lost in thought, her expression filled with sorrow.

Inside the Heavenly Secret Hall, Lu Ye sat comfortably on a large chair. It was unclear who the chair originally belonged to, but now it was the Crimson Blood Sect's property.

Feng Yue stood submissively before him, her hands clasped over her lower abdomen.

As expected of a medical cultivator, the puncture wounds on her hand had almost completely healed in just a few days, leaving no scars.

"Why hasn't anyone come to ransom you?"

Lu Ye had been waiting for the Feng family to ransom her for the past few days.

In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, medical cultivators captured by opposing factions could be ransomed for a price. Furthermore, Feng Yue was not only a medical cultivator but also the Garrison Commissioner of the Feng family's outpost. With such a status, her worth should be considerable.

To Lu Ye, Feng Yue represented a substantial amount of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills.

He had been ready to negotiate with the Feng family. However, the Feng family had made no move, which was making him impatient.

Feng Yue lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper: "The Feng family probably thinks I'm dead."

"Nonsense!"

This woman was being dishonest. High-ranking figures like the Sect Seal Master or the Sect Master could ascertain whether their disciples were alive or dead.

Just as when Lu Ye was stranded in the Spirit Creek Battlefield years ago, his Master and Senior Sister knew he was still alive, even if they didn't know his exact location.

This was because he carried the Crimson Blood Sect's mark; as long as the mark persisted, he was alive.

Moreover, Feng Yue and other Feng family cultivators must have shared their respective marks. Those Feng family cultivators familiar with her could easily determine her fate by checking for the presence or absence of her mark.

If Feng Yue were truly dead, her mark would have vanished.

Lu Ye was no longer naive; he wouldn't be fooled by Feng Yue's simple words.

"Who is in charge at your Feng family outpost now?"

Although most of the Feng family's Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were dead, powerful individuals from the inner or core circles must have returned. To get a ransom, he needed to contact someone in charge.

Feng Yue pursed her lips and remained silent.

Lu Ye raised his hand and pressed down on the hilt of his Panshan Blade. With a grating sound, the long blade slowly emerged from its sheath.

"It's my third brother, Feng Xiangyang!" Feng Yue quickly replied. This young man in front of her was clearly the type who would truly use his blade if things didn't go his way. Although the wound on her palm had healed, a piercing pain still resonated in her palm whenever she recalled that blade.

"Contact him and tell him that if they want you back, they need to pay 100,000 Spirit Stones!"

The Crimson Blood Sect's Spirit Creek Realm division was now quite large. Their monthly stipend expenses amounted to several thousand Spirit Stones. He couldn't keep asking his Senior Sister for funds, especially since the Crimson Blood Sect had declined for so many years and she wasn't wealthy either.

Previously, the Crimson Blood Sect had no significant income. However, their situation was much better now because their two neighboring factions had been completely crippled. This meant the Crimson Blood Sect now controlled the surrounding hundred-mile radius. The mineral veins and any other resources here would now be the Crimson Blood Sect's wealth, with no more involvement from the Heavenly Fiend Hall or the Feng family.

Disciples had also cultivated many spirit fields within the outpost. Hua Ci was leading others in planting medicinal herbs and spirit plants there to supplement their resources.

But all these efforts required time to accumulate resources. If he could get some ransom from the Feng family, it would alleviate the Crimson Blood Sect's financial pressure.

"The Feng family can't possibly give that much," Feng Yue exclaimed, staring at Lu Ye in shock. 100,000 Spirit Stones—he really dared to ask for that much. This young man, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, turned out to be quite ruthless.

It made sense. If he weren't ruthless, how could he have successively captured the outposts of two factions by exploiting the insect tide?

"Less talk, just contact him quickly."

Under Lu Ye's "kind persuasion," Feng Yue reluctantly contacted Feng Xiangyang.

In fact, Feng Xiangyang had already contacted Feng Yue before this, knowing her current predicament and even asking her to convey to Lu Ye that they were willing to spend some Spirit Stones to ransom her back.

However, Feng Yue had never mentioned this to Lu Ye.

As for why he didn't come himself... he didn't dare. All cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge within a thousand-mile radius knew to absolutely, under no circumstances, approach within ten miles of the Crimson Blood Sect's outpost. Once, a Heavenly Grade Eighth-Layer Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator flew past the Crimson Blood Sect's outpost on his artifact, and then a shadow descended... leaving him gone!

So it wasn't that the Feng family didn't want to ransom her. Rather, there was no suitable communication channel between them, and the message had stopped with Feng Yue.

"What if I can't reach him?" Feng Yue asked, raising her eyes to discreetly observe Lu Ye.

Lu Ye pulled out his Panshan Blade and placed it by his feet, making his intentions clear.

Feng Yue quickly sent a message.

A moment later, she softly said, "I've reached him."

"What did he say?"

Lu Ye asked casually, as streams of spirit energy circulated in his palm, with Yin and Yang energies intertwining to gradually form the rudimentary shape of a spirit pattern.

"They can offer three thousand Spirit Stones..." Feng Yue responded weakly.

The spirit pattern, which was about to form, suddenly collapsed due to the disruption of spirit energy.

Lu Ye looked up at Feng Yue.

"Three thousand?"

"Yes."

"Then you're useless."

It wasn't that Lu Ye was unwilling to negotiate. But he had demanded 100,000, and they countered with 3,000—there was no sincerity in that. Further negotiation would only be a waste of breath.

"Kong Niu!" Lu Ye called out to Kong Niu, who was standing in front of the Heavenly Secret Pillar, seemingly busy with something.

"Hmm," the burly Kong Niu grunted in response, turning his head.

"Drag this woman away and kill her!"

"Oh." Kong Niu strode forward. As Feng Yue watched in horror, a large hand, like a cattail fan, reached out, grabbed her by the hair, and turned, dragging her away.

Kong Niu was a dull-witted individual who previously only followed Hua Ci's orders. Now, Lu Ye was added to his list of masters.

Feng Yue was stunned, only screaming after being dragged a certain distance along the ground: "The Feng family wants to ransom me back so I can take responsibility for losing the outpost! That's why they can't pay too many Spirit Stones!"

She struggled wildly, somehow breaking free from Kong Niu's hold. She scrambled and crawled to Lu Ye's feet, kneeling on the ground, and looked up, her eyes misty with tears: "There's internal strife within the Feng family. My faction used to hold power. Now that the outpost was lost under my command, even if I'm a medical cultivator, being ransomed back to the Feng family means certain death. How could they spend so many Spirit Stones on someone who is doomed to die? They just need someone to bear the responsibility for this incident."

Kong Niu stood a short distance away, looking down at the handful of broken hair in his hand. Then he turned and walked towards Feng Yue again.

Lu Ye raised a hand, and Kong Niu's towering figure stopped behind Feng Yue, casting a shadow over her.

Lu Ye lowered his head, looking down at the disheveled woman before him.

"So, I can't get many Spirit Stones from the Feng family?"

"Absolutely not!"

Lu Ye thought of Dong Shuye, who had defected from his sect because he lost an outpost. The responsibility for such an incident was indeed too great for a Seventh-Layer cultivator to bear. As Feng Yue said, even if she was a medical cultivator, and even if she originally had the backing of those in power, being ransomed back to the Feng family this time would mean certain death.

The outpost was lost, and countless disciples died or were injured. If such a matter went unpunished, how could they account to the deceased cultivators or maintain authority in the future?

"Then what use are you?"

Lu Ye felt a bit vexed. He had initially thought that with Feng Yue's status as Garrison Commissioner, her ransom value wouldn't be low. But now it seemed he had oversimplified the situation. It was precisely because of her status as Garrison Commissioner that the Feng family couldn't offer too high a price. Spending a large sum to ransom someone back only to execute them—the Feng family's Spirit Stones didn't grow on trees.

"I'm a medical cultivator, I can join the Crimson Blood Sect instead!" Feng Yue blurted out anxiously. From her appearance, it was clear she had already considered this.

"You must be dreaming."

Feng Yue might dare to join the Crimson Blood Sect for a slim chance at survival, but Lu Ye didn't dare to accept her.

He had just conquered their outpost and killed hundreds of their cultivators. To then immediately take in their Garrison Commissioner... What if Feng Yue harbored ill intentions? Would Lu Ye have to be constantly wary of her?

Furthermore, changing sects usually required a lot of merit, as forcibly erasing the mark of one's previous faction demanded significant merit... Wait, no. Feng Yue was the Feng family's Garrison Commissioner; she had the authority to erase the marks of her subordinate cultivators, including her own.

As for loyalty to the Crimson Blood Sect, that wasn't difficult to resolve. Feng Yue could simply swear a Heavenly Secret Oath.

Through these few interactions, Lu Ye had come to understand this woman's true nature. When it came to her own life and death, she was quite pliable, evident from her decisive kneel right at the start.

While she was a woman, she was also a Seventh-Layer cultivator. To kneel so readily in the face of a life-or-death crisis indicated a certain lack of resolve.

Yet, sometimes she was very stubborn. Earlier, when Lu Ye asked her to transmit false intelligence to the Feng family cultivators, tricking them into emerging from the wormhole, Feng Yue had shown unyielding defiance, preferring death to compliance.

In summary, while she was highly self-serving, she also possessed loyalty to her faction.

Slowly, Lu Ye bent down and raised a hand to pinch Feng Yue's chin.

"How much merit do you have?"

"Over four thousand..." Feng Yue replied, knowing that this moment would decide her life or death, so she dared not conceal anything.

Lu Ye released her, stood up, and walked to the Heavenly Secret Pillar. He quickly returned with a Heavenly Secret Pact and tossed it to Feng Yue.

"Sign it!"

Feng Yue knelt on the ground, took the pact, and looked it over. She found it filled with numerous clauses, including prohibitions against harming any Crimson Blood Sect cultivators from now on, disclosing any information related to the Crimson Blood Sect to anyone, and holding any resentment towards Lu Ye or those around him...

There were easily over twenty such clauses.

Feng Yue's scalp tingled as she read through it. She couldn't understand how Lu Ye had drafted so many conditions in such a short time.

If she signed such a Heavenly Secret Pact, she would pose no threat to the Crimson Blood Sect in the future.

"Is this a deed of servitude?"

Feng Yue looked up, gazing at Lu Ye with a pitiful expression. Things were not quite as she had expected.

"Just tell me if you'll sign it or not."