Chapter 258: Wind Flower Courtyard

Eighty miles east of the Tianji Workshop, a bowl-shaped valley was enveloped in surging gray mist. What the valley originally looked like was unknown, as it was now completely obscured from view.

The valley was not large, spanning only a few miles. On the high slopes surrounding it, cultivators gathered in groups of three to five, evidently having rushed there after receiving news from nearby locations.

This location was not within the territory of any faction's stronghold, making it an unclaimed land. Such unclaimed lands were common in the vast battlefield, as the strongholds of the Kyushu sects could not be seamlessly connected, always leaving large undeveloped areas.

Centered around this location, there were four nearby factions in total: two from the Haotian Alliance and two from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge. All were fifth or sixth-rank factions with considerable foundations.

At this moment, two of these four factions had already arrived: the Wind Flower Pavilion from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge, and the Divine Hidden Palace from the Haotian Alliance.

Unlike the rogue cultivators who arrived in small groups, both factions brought nearly a hundred people each, demonstrating their significant regard for this Boundless Mirage.

Their swift arrival was mainly due to their proximity and receiving the news in a timely manner.

The other two factions weren't as fortunate; even if they received the news, it would still take them some time to get here.

At this moment, both factions were sending people to recruit nearby rogue cultivators, but the results were not ideal.

Rogue cultivators in the inner circle were generally more independent, unlike the smaller rogue cultivators in the outer circle who could be easily swayed. These inner-circle cultivators had progressed this far mostly through their own efforts.

Furthermore, exploring places like the Boundless Mirage, having many people was not necessarily a good thing. Once one joined a sect's faction, large-scale conflicts with opposing sides were inevitable. At that point, they would have to follow orders, losing control over their own life and death. It was often better to act in groups of three to five.

Rogue cultivators genuinely willing to join them would have already approached them, negating the need for active recruitment.

Rogue cultivators preferred to form teams among themselves.

When Lu Ye arrived on his artifact, he saw hundreds of cultivators gathered there, creating a chaotic scene.

He immediately spotted two teams of about a hundred people each, positioned on opposite sides of the valley, facing each other from a distance. Among the cultivators on one side, there were many female cultivators, all of whom were exceptionally beautiful. Some of them wore remarkably daring outfits, with long legs and slender waists subtly revealed, drawing attention. Behind this group of female cultivators, a large flag stood, its emblem resembling several flower petals, and a faint floral fragrance seemed to emanate from it.

Lu Ye recognized this as the flag of the Wind Flower Pavilion.

It wasn't that he had seen such a flag before; he had only seen the emblem on the flag, which was depicted on his 'Ten-Points Chart'. On his Ten-Points Chart, each sect's name was followed by the emblem of its flag.

For example, the emblem for the Crimson Blood Sect was a golden flame on a red background.

The cultivators on the other side were unremarkable. Observing their flag's emblem and comparing it with his Ten-Points Chart, Lu Ye concluded they were from the Divine Hidden Palace.

One faction from each of the two major alliances had arrived.

According to the Ten-Points Chart, there were four factions in the vicinity that could potentially arrive. Besides the two present, there was the Cloud Ascending Hall from the Haotian Alliance and the Sun-Illuminating Mountain from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge. There was no sign of their cultivators yet, presumably still en route, as they were further away.

Lu Ye descended on the side belonging to the Divine Hidden Palace and carefully surveyed the area ahead.

The reason he spent a hefty sum on information from the Tianji Mercantile Alliance after hearing about the Boundless Mirage, and rushed here immediately, was because the word 'Mirage' itself piqued his interest.

He possessed a Resting Fruit Core. Through this core, he could spend merit points to enter a mirage realm, where he honed his combat skills.

He didn't know if this Boundless Mirage had any connection to the mirage realm he entered, but it was always worthwhile to investigate.

Looking around now, Lu Ye realized things were more complicated than he thought.

The gray mist swirling in the valley was strikingly familiar; when he entered his mirage realm, the surroundings had been exactly this kind of mist.

Could there truly be a connection between the two? However, judging solely by the gray mist would be premature; whether there was a connection or not could only be known by entering.

As he was observing, a young cultivator approached him, bowed respectfully and said, “Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am Ji Yan from the Divine Hidden Palace, and I would like to invite you to explore the Boundless Mirage with us. What are your thoughts?”

Lu Ye glanced at the Divine Hidden Palace's team and pondered for a moment.

“No need.”

Entering the Boundless Mirage with the Divine Hidden Palace's team would certainly be safer, but it would also come with more restrictions.

Ji Yan didn't press the matter, simply nodded slightly to Lu Ye, and moved past him, evidently to recruit others.

After Ji Yan left, a short, mustachioed cultivator standing next to Lu Ye chuckled, “Fellow Daoist, your refusal was wise. Although the Divine Hidden Palace has a good reputation, if you truly joined them, you likely wouldn't gain much benefit. We rogue cultivators are inherently unsuited to act with sect disciples.” He seemed to have suffered some setback because of this, as his words subtly conveyed a disdain for sect-affiliated cultivators.

Changing the subject, he said, “If you're interested, how about we team up? Inside, we can support each other. Looking at you, you seem to be a weapon cultivator, right? I'm a spell cultivator, and this big fellow is a body cultivator. If I find a ghost cultivator, we'll have a complete team. What do you think?”

As he spoke, he patted the shoulder of a person next to him. The reason he could reach their shoulder was primarily because the person was sitting on the ground.

Lu Ye looked down. Initially, he hadn't paid much attention, but the man sitting on the ground was broad-shouldered and exuded abundant vital energy, clearly a body cultivator. Simply sitting there, he conveyed an impression of unmoving stillness, like a mountain. Upon closer inspection, Lu Ye was surprised.

This body cultivator's spiritual energy was astonishingly pure and flawless. Having roamed the Spirit Creek Battlefield for so long, Lu Ye had seen all kinds of cultivators. Without exception, even the purest spiritual radiance on their bodies always had some impurities, which was due to consuming spirit pills.

He had never seen spiritual radiance as clear as his own, until now, when he saw one, and it belonged to a body cultivator.

The body cultivator sat on the ground, holding a piece of still-bloody beast meat, and ate it with large bites.

As if sensing Lu Ye's gaze, the body cultivator turned his head and gave Lu Ye a simple, honest smile.

“What do you think, fellow Daoist?” the mustachioed cultivator asked again.

Lu Ye calmly replied, “No need.”

The mustachioed man scoffed softly, “I was going to offer you a hand, but since you're so unappreciative, forget it.” He and his companion were both cultivators at the ninth realm, so they did have the standing to speak of 'offering a hand' to Lu Ye, who was at the eighth realm.

After speaking, he then walked towards another lone rogue cultivator nearby, evidently seeking to recruit someone else.

“Here, have some!” The body cultivator, still cross-legged on the ground, offered the beast meat in his hand.

Lu Ye was about to refuse, when Amber, who was perched on his shoulder, suddenly leaped down, landing on the body cultivator's thigh, and began gnawing on the meat.

A simple smile appeared on the body cultivator's face. As he fed Amber, he raised his large, fan-like hand and gently stroked Amber's soft fur.

Lu Ye's eyes lowered slightly.

This was quite interesting.

Since bringing Amber back to the Crimson Blood Sect, few people other than him and Yiyi could approach it. Even Ruan Lingyu, who was very close to Yiyi, was no exception. Once, Ruan Lingyu wanted to experience riding Amber, but Amber, basking in the sun on the ground, stubbornly refused to get up. It was only when Yiyi spoke that it lazily carried Lingyu for a lap around Shouzheng Peak.

As for feeding Amber... besides what Lu Ye and Yiyi gave it, it wouldn't eat a single bite, even if given by Second Senior Sister Shui Yuan.

Lu Ye had never seen Amber so close to a stranger, and even accept food from them.

Yiyi wasn't currently visible, hidden inside Amber. Lu Ye wasn't sure what was happening.

Amber was intelligent and could discern good and evil in hearts. Its closeness to this body cultivator implied there was something about the man that attracted it, or perhaps, only those with pure hearts could have such clarity of spirit?

Time passed. More cultivators continued to arrive after receiving the news, though at this point, most were rogue cultivators arriving in small groups of two or three.

The mist in the valley swirled even more intensely.

Across the valley, within the Wind Flower Pavilion's contingent, a tall female cultivator, dressed in a short top revealing her slender waist, who led the group, was listening to a report from a man beside her.

This female cultivator was Chu Qing, the Deputy Guardian of the Wind Flower Pavilion. For a place like the Boundless Mirage, it was natural for someone of significant standing to lead the expedition; either a Guardian or a Deputy Guardian from a stronghold was required to be present.

“Sun-Illuminating Mountain is almost here, they'll make it in time,” the man reported. As he spoke, he cautiously moved closer to Chu Qing, subtly inhaling her scent, his mind captivated.

Chu Qing nodded slightly. “That's good. Is there any news from the Cloud Ascending Hall?”

“Not yet.”

“Go find out,” Chu Qing ordered.

“Yes, ma'am!” the man replied, bowing respectfully before withdrawing.

The Wind Flower Pavilion was a very unique faction. Within it, women generally held higher status than men and received better treatment.

This was because the grand cultivator at the Divine Sea realm who founded the sect originally intended to only recruit female disciples. That grand cultivator seemed to have been deceived and exploited by men in the past, leading to an inherent aversion and resistance towards men, believing all men in the world deserved to die.

However, during the sect's development, only recruiting female disciples proved to have significant limitations. Among other things, female cultivators were rare in the body cultivation lineage, as women cherished their beauty. Who would want to cultivate abundant vital energy, becoming burly and stout?

Therefore, after the founding ancestor passed away, the Wind Flower Pavilion's development policy changed, and they began recruiting male disciples.

Overall, the number of female cultivators in the Wind Flower Pavilion was greater, making up seventy to eighty percent of the members. Male cultivators constituted a small portion, and most of them were body cultivators. Any dangerous tasks were primarily handled by them.

However, within the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge, the Wind Flower Pavilion enjoyed high popularity. After all, who wouldn't like delicate beauties? And the Wind Flower Pavilion had an abundance of such fair-skinned, beautiful female cultivators.