Chapter 276: Counterattack

**Wind of the Nine Provinces**

When Chu Qing led her people to find him earlier, he had thought they could rendezvous with Feng Hua Academy and take down the Divine Hidden Palace in one fell swoop. To his surprise, Chu Qing brought fewer than thirty people!

One should know that Feng Hua Academy had brought nearly a hundred people into this area. Even if some were unlucky enough to be captured by the Immortal Yuan Guards and thrown into the dungeon, they shouldn't have lost so many.

But with only thirty-odd people left out of a hundred, what could they do? At best, they could only provide a minor advantage.

Qi Ming had long ago sent a message to Chu Qing, instructing her to bring her people to rendezvous with him. Their priority was to deal with the Divine Hidden Palace first. As long as the Divine Hidden Palace was dealt with, the remaining rogue cultivators of the Vast Sky Alliance would be nothing more than scattered sand, posing no real threat.

But Chu Qing insisted on seeking trouble with Lu Ye. If she had successfully dealt with him, it would have been fine. Yet, not only did she fail, Feng Hua Academy suffered heavy losses. So many were killed that fewer than thirty remained.

Although those who died were not from Zhaori Mountain, this undoubtedly impacted Qi Ming's original plan. Naturally, this left Qi Ming feeling displeased.

If it weren't for his good personal relationship with Chu Qing in the past, he would surely have cursed her as "big-chested and brainless."

Chu Qing naturally understood the implication of Qi Ming's words. She felt aggrieved but had no way to retort.

When she arrived, she had already explained the situation to Qi Ming. Feng Hua Academy's heavy losses at Lu Ye's hands this time could largely be attributed to the woman in the red dress. If it weren't for her insistence that Feng Hua Academy search for something called Tangyuan, they wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

But regardless, with such an outcome, she still had to bear some responsibility.

"We need to deal with those spirits first; they are very troublesome," Chu Qing suggested.

Feng Hua Academy had suffered enough at the hands of these spirits. While the Immortal Yuan Guards didn't have many lethal attacks, their most frequently used technique was the Spirit Binding Lock. This spell was incredibly effective at binding and capturing people. In such a large-scale battle, once someone was ensnared by the Spirit Binding Lock, a barrage of flying artifacts and spells would immediately follow.

"I know," Qi Ming retorted impatiently. With a command, dozens immediately turned their attention towards Lu Ye's side, and a flurry of spells and flying artifacts swept towards them.

Ju Jia fearlessly stepped forward, using his physical body to block the numerous attacks. At the same time, Lu Ye also activated his two flying artifacts, intercepting the enemy's attacks as much as possible.

His flying artifacts were very fast, so even though he had only two and was alone, their interception effect was quite good. Supplemented by Ju Jia, the threat posed by the Myriad Demon Ridge to the vengeful spirits was significantly reduced.

This side attracted the attacks of many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, greatly reducing the pressure on the Vast Sky Alliance cultivators nearby. With shouts and commands, the intensity of their counterattack suddenly increased considerably. The previously disadvantaged situation even showed signs of stabilizing.

This greatly boosted the morale of the Vast Sky Alliance.

The whimpering cries became increasingly disturbing to the mind. The vengeful spirits continuously acted to bind enemies. Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who were bound, if lucky, could escape in time. The unlucky ones were quickly slain.

As more and more Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators perished, the situation truly began to stabilize!

Sensing the significant role Lu Ye's side was playing, under Ji Yan's coordination, a team of over a dozen cultivators moved closer to this area to alleviate pressure on Lu Ye and Ju Jia, allowing the vengeful spirits to act without restraint. Especially near the Pipa Girl, three cultivators surrounded her, guarding her closely.

Both Ji Yan and Qi Ming had noticed the enormous role the Pipa Girl played in this battlefield. Other Immortal Yuan Guards had singular attack methods; even Liu Sanbao merely used flying artifacts to kill enemies. But the Pipa Girl's whimpering cries covered too wide an area, disturbing the minds of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators every time they sounded. Coupled with the ding-dong sounds of her pipa, she was practically a major weapon capable of influencing the battle's direction.

This led to the Myriad Demon Ridge specifically targeting the Pipa Girl.

While everyone was fighting intensely, a nearly invisible figure silently and slowly approached Lu Ye's side.

The figure did not move fast. If one looked carefully, they could faintly discern some outlines of his body. But currently, both sides were fighting fiercely; who would have the spare mental energy to scan their surroundings? Even less would anyone expect an enemy to be so audacious as to infiltrate the rear of their own ranks.

To possess such elusive abilities, he was clearly a ghost cultivator.

The ghost cultivator concealed all his aura. Even the spiritual artifact in his hand showed no glint of sharpness. He stared at Amber on Lu Ye's shoulder, slowly closing in.

With the information provided by Chu Qing, Qi Ming had already understood that the source of Lu Ye's ability to control the Immortal Yuan Guards lay with this pet. Therefore, as long as this pet was killed, the controlled Immortal Yuan Guards would no longer pose a threat.

This ghost cultivator had been lurking nearby for a long time. His original target was Ji Yan, but he hadn't found a good opportunity. Now, under Qi Ming's command, his target changed to Amber.

Ten zhang, five zhang, three zhang. While everyone was completely unprepared, the ghost cultivator suddenly attacked.

However, just as the ghost cultivator was about to strike Amber, his vision blurred. All the commotion vanished. He found himself inexplicably in a forest of chaotic rocks.

Lu Ye quickly looked back. Yiyi also hurriedly retreated a few steps from in front of him. With a raise of her hand, she retrieved the Nine Realms Map, which had been hidden on the ground, into her grasp. Looking down, she saw an extra figure in the chaotic rock forest depicted on the map.

She quickly activated her spiritual power to stabilize the Nine Realms Map. She nodded at Lu Ye. Lu Ye placed Amber from his shoulder. Yiyi then swung the Nine Realms Map in her hand, covering Lu Ye with it.

In just ten breaths, she shook the Nine Realms Map again. Lu Ye appeared, along with a corpse.

This was a ninth-level ghost cultivator. It must be said that ghost cultivators' ability to lurk and conceal themselves was truly remarkable. Lu Ye had not even noticed him before. If he hadn't set up the Nine Realms Map behind him in advance, the attacker might have truly succeeded.

He secretly warned himself that he needed to be more careful when dealing with ghost cultivators in the future. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know when they might sneak up on him.

Of course, this also had something to do with the current chaotic situation.

Just as this ghost cultivator died, Qi Ming vaguely sensed it. Checking his battlefield mark, he confirmed that the ghost cultivator he had placed great hopes on was dead, and his face immediately darkened.

That was a ninth-level ghost cultivator from his sect, whose stealth abilities were exceptional. Yet now, for some unknown reason, he had died so inexplicably!

Looking back at the battlefield, the Vast Sky Alliance cultivators, who had originally been completely suppressed, now not only had the means to hold their ground against them but even had the strength to counterattack.

Ever since Lu Ye appeared with a group of spirits, more than thirty Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators had been killed. Although their numbers were still slightly greater than the Vast Sky Alliance, they could no longer form the same complete suppression as before. Coupled with the influence of the whimpering spirits, even with their numerical superiority, they held no significant advantage.

If they continued fighting like this, neither side would gain anything.

Qi Ming hesitated for a moment. Seeing the situation worsen, he could only order a retreat.

When the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators tried to leave, the Vast Sky Alliance naturally wouldn't let them go easily. They pursued them for a while, incurring mutual casualties, before finally ceasing their pursuit under Ji Yan's command.

The great battle thus came to a halt. Almost every member of the Vast Sky Alliance was wounded. Lu Ye's side also suffered significant losses. Liu Sanbao and the Pipa Girl were unharmed, but only three of the more than ten squad-leader-level Immortal Yuan Guards remained. All the others had their spiritual forms shattered during the previous engagement.

There was nothing that could be done about this. In such a chaotic situation, even though he and Ju Jia had done their best to protect their vengeful spirits, oversights were inevitable. Especially since the Myriad Demon Ridge had fiercely attacked their position for a period.

If Ju Jia hadn't stood at the front, probably all the vengeful spirits would have died.

Ji Yan, along with several cultivators from the Divine Hidden Palace, quickly walked towards them. From a distance, he cupped his fist and said, "Many thanks, fellow Daoist, for coming to our aid."

"We are all part of the Vast Sky Alliance; it was merely my duty," Lu Ye returned the greeting.

Ji Yan now recognized Lu Ye. After all, he had tried to recruit Lu Ye in the valley before, but was unfortunately rejected at that time.

"May I ask for your name, fellow Daoist?"

"Lu Ye, from the Blood Sect!"

"Blood Sect?" Ji Yan raised an eyebrow. "Is it the Blood Sect from Bingzhou?"

The cultivators who came with him also seemed surprised, clearly having heard of the Blood Sect's reputation.

"Precisely!"

Ji Yan scrutinized Lu Ye, then asked suspiciously, "About half a year ago, on Golden Light Peak in the outer ring of the battlefield, there was a Blood Sect cultivator named Lu Yiye who challenged various Myriad Demon Ridge sects. Was that..."

"That was me."

Ji Yan immediately exclaimed, "Ah! So it was fellow Daoist Yiye! Your name precedes you. On that day, Senior Brother Gu also told us that your actions greatly boosted the morale of our Vast Sky Alliance. It's a pity he wasn't there to witness your remarkable presence firsthand. I never expected to meet you here, fellow Daoist. Senior Brother Gu, he..."

At this point, Ji Yan seemed to recall something, pausing his speech. He smiled slightly and said, "Meeting you today, fellow Daoist, confirms that your reputation is truly well-deserved."

"You flatter me."

Ji Yan gestured with his hand. "This isn't the place to talk. Please come this way, fellow Daoist."

A short while later, in a dilapidated compound, Ji Yan led Lu Ye here to settle in. Many injured cultivators were receiving treatment there. In large-scale operations involving over a hundred people, medical cultivators typically accompanied them. This was true not only for the Divine Hidden Palace but also for the other two factions.

However, the number of medical cultivators was inherently small, so even fewer came along. This resulted in a few medical cultivators being swamped with work. Cultivators with minor injuries generally treated themselves. Only those with severe injuries were sent here.

"Fellow Daoist Yiye, how is Ju Jia accompanying you? And what about Sima Yang?" Ji Yan glanced at Ju Jia, who had followed them and was covered in blood. He had some suspicions but couldn't be certain.

"Sima Yang died. Ju Jia and I met by chance on the road and decided to travel together."

"Sima Yang died?"

Lu Ye actually felt a hint of surprise in Ji Yan's tone, wondering if it was his imagination.

"What a pity. Although Sima Yang was a rogue cultivator, he did have some abilities. Our Divine Hidden Palace tried to recruit him before, but it didn't work out. I didn't expect him to die in this place."

As he spoke, he called out, "Junior Sister Lin, Junior Sister Lin!"

A female cultivator, wearing a headscarf and covered in blood, ran in. "Senior Brother Ji."

Ji Yan pointed to Ju Jia standing nearby. "Please help Senior Brother Ju Jia recover from his injuries. He contributed significantly to our victory in this battle."

"Yes," the female cultivator replied, and gestured to Ju Jia, "Follow me."

Ju Jia turned and followed her.