Chapter 270: Loyalty and Righteousness Are Unparalleled

Winds of Kyushu

Winds of Kyushu

A moment later, on the roof of a building, Lu Ye cautiously peered his head out to look down. The area below appeared to be a plaza, where several corpses lay scattered. Numerous cultivators, over thirty in number, were gathered around.

A force of this size could only have been assembled primarily by the three factions that had entered the area. Based on information obtained from the Hao Tian Alliance cultivators earlier, their members were not gathered here. This suggested that these individuals were very likely from Wan Mo Ridge. As expected, Lu Ye spotted the figure of the woman named Ruoyan among the crowd. Chu Qing was not present; her whereabouts were unknown.

Lu Ye also recognized the person they were besieging: Ju Jia, with whom he had only recently parted ways. At this very moment, Ju Jia was curled up on the ground. As streaks of light from spells and activated artifacts rained down, spiritual light flashed wildly on his back. His already tattered hemp robe had long since disintegrated, revealing his muscular, sinewy back, covered in streaks of blood.

Lu Ye watched, his heart pounding with shock. In his previous brief encounter with Ju Jia, Lu Ye had witnessed his terrifying physique. A sharp blade strike, empowered by a spell, had only left a white mark on the opponent's chest. The strength of his physique was beyond imagination; it was unclear how a cultivator at the ninth level had achieved such immense physical power. Looking at him now, it further showed Lu Ye how formidable Ju Jia was, for even with so many attacks landing on him, they had not killed him. In such a situation, any ninth-level physical cultivator would be unable to withstand it, yet Ju Jia had managed to resist.

Of course, this was also because not everyone from Wan Mo Ridge had attacked. But even if not everyone was involved, there were still seven or eight people besieging Ju Jia. Ju Jia faced the continuous attacks, not dodging, but simply enduring them. Judging by his curled posture, he seemed to be protecting something. Lu Ye focused his gaze and saw the figure beneath him. It was the small-bearded spell cultivator. Ju Jia's broad frame shielded him beneath, enduring the barrage of attacks and not allowing them to harm the small-bearded cultivator in the slightest. However, judging by the blood flowing from beneath Ju Jia, it seemed the small-bearded spell cultivator was likely already dead. It was unclear how they had been besieged and ended up in such a predicament.

Ruoyan suddenly spoke, "Ju Jia, join the Wind and Flowers Pavilion, and you won't die today!"

This group, led by Ruoyan, had specifically come to find Ju Jia. Before entering the Immeasurable Mirage Realm, Chu Qing had already set two initial tasks for this trip: first, to kill Lu Ye, and second, to kill Ju Jia. Killing Lu Ye was naturally to avenge Chu Xue. As for killing Ju Jia, this fellow was renowned for his extremely strong physique. If they didn't find a way to kill him and he was recruited by the Divine Seclusion Palace, he would become difficult to deal with. Not only were members of the Wind and Flowers Pavilion searching for Ju Jia, but also those from Soaring Sun Mountain. They would certainly join forces later to deal with the Divine Seclusion Palace, so they needed to eliminate any threatening powerful cultivators in advance. Ju Jia was their primary target.

Ruoyan's group eventually found traces of Ju Jia and the small-bearded spell cultivator. In the ensuing battle, the small-bearded spell cultivator fell first, but Ju Jia, for the moment, had not died. Although she had long heard of Ju Jia's prowess, Ruoyan couldn't help but feel a little horrified when she personally witnessed his powerful physique. She had thought Qiaoyun was already among the top tier of physical cultivators at the same level, but now it seemed Qiaoyun was far inferior to Ju Jia. This made Ruoyan consider recruiting him. The Wind and Flowers Pavilion already had few physical cultivators, and their strongest, Qiaoyun, was dead. If they could recruit Ju Jia, it would undoubtedly be a great achievement. Ruoyan had already sent a message to Chu Qing for instructions and received her approval. At this very moment, Chu Qing was leading another group on their way and would soon converge with this group. The Wind and Flowers Pavilion's attitude towards Ju Jia was clear: if they could recruit him, all the better; if not, kill him! The principle was to destroy what they couldn't obtain.

"Ju Jia, don't be so stubborn," Ruoyan urged. "You know very well how Sima Yang treated you. If you join the Wind and Flowers Pavilion, no one will ever treat you unfairly again!"

Sima Yang was the name of the small-bearded spell cultivator. Was there no one who tried to recruit a physical cultivator as exceptionally talented as Ju Jia? Of course there was. Ever since Ju Jia displayed his talent, nearby sects and factions had continuously tried to recruit him, hoping to take him in as a disciple. A physical cultivator like him was worth ten ordinary ones. But Sima Yang, who traveled with him, would never agree. The two of them had never even aligned themselves with any sect, because choosing to do so would mean obeying others' commands, which Sima Yang absolutely could not accept.

Rumor had it that Ju Jia had never taken a human life. This sounded incredible, but it was true. In every battle, Ju Jia would charge forward while Sima Yang coordinated from behind. After crippling and incapacitating enemies, Sima Yang would step forward to take their lives, gaining merits and various benefits. Long ago, Sima Yang discovered a problem: Ju Jia's cultivation speed far surpassed his own. If he didn't use this method, Ju Jia's cultivation would leave him far behind, and then he wouldn't be able to act alongside Ju Jia. If Ju Jia didn't kill, he wouldn't gain merits. Without merits, he couldn't exchange for Heavenly-grade cultivation techniques, and his cultivation would remain stuck at the ordinary ninth level. Sima Yang, on the other hand, could slowly catch up in cultivation while also accumulating enough merits to exchange for a good Heavenly-grade cultivation technique for himself. As long as they could leave the Immeasurable Mirage Realm this time, Sima Yang would be able to obtain his Heavenly-grade cultivation technique. Later, he would find a way to get a Heavenly-grade cultivation technique for Ju Jia, and they would remain good companions, good brothers, fighting together on the Spirit Stream Battlefield!

This matter was no secret among nearby cultivators, and some had even secretly spoken to Ju Jia about it. However, Ju Jia had never cared, as he had been acting with Sima Yang since he was very weak. This was also why Sima Yang had tried to recruit others for cooperation before, but no one was willing. With such a bad reputation, who would want to cooperate with such a person and risk being betrayed?

Selfishness and greed ultimately sowed the seeds of trouble. Sima Yang probably never imagined that the Immeasurable Mirage Realm here would connect to a dangerous place like Immortal Origin City, nor that the Wind and Flowers Pavilion and Soaring Sun Mountain would actually target him and Ju Jia first. Normally, these two factions should have targeted the Divine Seclusion Palace first; once they started fighting, he could then take Ju Jia and look for opportunities to profit from the sidelines, a tactic he was most skilled at. Once their whereabouts were exposed, there could be no good outcome. Lu Ye had been besieged at the time; if he hadn't had enough vengeful spirits under his command, he probably would have met his demise on the spot.

With a lineup of thirty to forty people besieging Sima Yang and Ju Jia, the Wind and Flowers Pavilion had even lost a few members. This was not because Sima Yang was particularly powerful, but because Ju Jia was strong enough. When Lu Ye first saw Ju Jia earlier, he noticed that Ju Jia's spiritual light was as clear as his own. That was because Ju Jia's cultivation had been stuck at the ninth level for two or three years. During this time, he had not consumed a single spiritual pill, thus the spiritual energy within his body was naturally clear and pure.

Meanwhile, Ruoyan's persuasion proved useless, and she had already lost her patience. She slightly raised a hand, about to order Ju Jia's death right there. An enemy who could not be recruited naturally had no reason to be kept alive. Her raised hand suddenly paused. Ruoyan's eyes swept towards a certain direction, where a familiar figure stood on a rooftop, looking down from above. Ruoyan's pupils constricted, and intense hatred burst forth. "You're alive after all!" she exclaimed.

When Qiaoyun died earlier, she and Chu Qing had deduced that Lu Ye probably wouldn't fare well either. However, when the mist dispersed and they went to retrieve Qiaoyun's body, they did not find Lu Ye's corpse. At that time, Chu Qing had already suspected that Lu Ye might not be dead. The two of them each led a team and acted separately: one task was to search for Ju Jia, the second was to search for any trace of Lu Ye, vowing to eliminate them completely.

Now, with Ju Jia at the end of his rope, that Lu Yiye had actually popped out, standing there boldly and openly provoking her. Ruoyan laughed despite her rage. Last time, the Wind and Flowers Pavilion's ambush had failed because the Immortal Yuan Guards interfered. Surely this time, there wouldn't be any Immortal Yuan Guards to interfere again.

Just as she was thinking this, a whimpering cry suddenly came from not far away. Simultaneously, Immortal Yuan Guards appeared one after another from all directions, and streaks of Spirit-Binding Chains shot out from their hands, covering them from above. The Pipa woman's whimpering cry was a very special sound attack. Earlier, if it hadn't been for Amber suppressing her, Lu Ye and the group of vengeful spirits would have had no good way to deal with her. After being transformed into a vengeful spirit, the Pipa woman's cultivation had dropped to only the ninth level, and the power of her cry was greatly reduced. However, when this eerie sound attack sounded, it still made many Wan Mo Ridge cultivators feel dizzy and disoriented, their minds scattered.

The pipa was lightly plucked, and a tinkling sound arose. Accompanied by the whimpering, the scene instantly became sinister and eerie. Many Wan Mo Ridge cultivators felt light-headed and weak in the knees, as if they were drunk. The Spirit-Binding Chains had already descended over their heads, instantly seizing many Wan Mo Ridge cultivators. A single Spirit-Binding Chain might not have strong binding power, but if two or three were combined, it would not be so easy to break free.

Beside the Pipa woman, Liu Sanbao launched three streaks of light, assisting the Immortal Yuan Guards in killing enemies. Not only that, but two streaks of activated artifact light also shot out from beside Lu Ye. These two streaks intertwined and rotated like a spinning top, leaving a trail of blood and gore wherever they passed. And there were also spells released by Yiyi. The sudden turn of events resulted in seven or eight deaths on the Wan Mo Ridge side, with more than ten cultivators bound by the Spirit-Binding Chains.

"Guard your minds!" Ruoyan's eyes were red, and spiritual energy boiled around her. She broke free from a Spirit-Binding Chain that had restrained her, then raised a hand and pointed, sending an activated artifact flying towards the nearest Immortal Yuan Guard squad leader. The Wan Mo Ridge cultivators who reacted quickly also took action, each employing their own methods. Screams rose one after another, and several more were killed.

As both sides fiercely clashed, no one noticed that Amber had already jumped down from Lu Ye's shoulder and, with light steps, darted in front of the prostrate Ju Jia.