Chapter 277: Gentlemen Use Words, Not Fists

Watching Juji depart, Ji Yan turned his attention back, his expression grave. "Brother Yi Ye," he began, "our sect is in a difficult position right now. If you're willing, would you consider staying to help us defend against the enemy?"

"That's exactly what I intended to do by coming here," Lu Ye replied.

Though Ji Yan knew Lu Ye would likely stay once he arrived, receiving such a direct answer still brought him peace of mind.

"That's excellent." He then asked, "Brother Yi Ye, when you were exploring outside, had you encountered anyone from Fenghua Court?"

"Yes, I encountered some."

Not only had he encountered them, but he had also engaged in several clashes.

"Fenghua Court is acting strangely this time," Ji Yan said, furrowing his brow as he voiced his concern. "In the previous battle, our sect managed to withstand Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's assault for so long mainly because Fenghua Court's people hadn't shown up. Although some appeared later, they were few in number. It's unclear what their main contingent was occupied with. If they had arrived earlier, our sect would surely have been overwhelmed."

He wasn't complacent about turning the tide in the previous battle. He understood his side's disadvantage: being outnumbered by Ten Thousand Devil Ridge. Although Zhaori Mountain's forces were repelled this time, as soon as they linked up with Fenghua Court's main contingent, they would quickly regroup and return. At that point, the Divine Concealment Palace would likely be unable to withstand them.

"As for Fenghua Court... Brother Ji, you needn't worry too much. There aren't many of them left."

"Hm?" Ji Yan looked at Lu Ye, puzzled.

"The others are all dead," Lu Ye stated. He quickly calculated in his mind: in the initial ambush led by Chu Qing, over a dozen Fenghua Court members died. Later, a dozen more died on the spot when Fenghua Court members accidentally injured Juji. He then pursued them with his revenants for half a day, and thirty more Fenghua Court members died. That totals around sixty people.

Fenghua Court had entered with around a hundred people this time. There might also be some unlucky ones who were captured by the Immortal Essence Guards and are now detained in the dungeon. Therefore, the only Fenghua Court members remaining should be the group led by Chu Qing.

Ji Yan wanted to ask how they died, but he quickly realized that Lu Ye's certainty implied his direct involvement.

"Was this your work, Brother Yi Ye?"

"More or less."

Ji Yan was stunned, regarding Lu Ye as a divine being. Single-handedly — even with Juji, that's only two people — to decimate Fenghua Court, leaving only thirty members, was truly an astonishing feat. Only then did he understand that his previous worries were unnecessary. The Fenghua Court members who came in hadn't failed to rendezvous with Zhaori Mountain; they *had* rendezvoused. The numbers he saw *were* their entire force.

"Were those revenants?" Ji Yan immediately thought of something. The reason he was so polite to Lu Ye was partly due to the reputation of the Blood-Blue Sect, and partly because he had just seen those revenants helping Lu Ye fight.

Especially the revenant weeping and playing the pipa; it's safe to say that without her, the recent battle wouldn't have ended so easily.

"Yes," Lu Ye nodded, not denying it.

Since he had already stepped forward to fight alongside the Divine Concealment Palace, there was no point in concealing certain abilities. At the very least, their own cultivators needed to know his capabilities to facilitate better cooperation.

"Brother Yi Ye's methods are truly unfathomable," Ji Yan exclaimed with admiration.

Lu Ye changed the subject. "Brother Ji, what are your plans next?"

Ji Yan said, "Let's rest and recover first. With Brother Yi Ye and Brother Juji joining us, the people from Ten Thousand Devil Ridge probably won't dare to act rashly."

"Brother Ji, haven't you thought about striking back?"

Ji Yan replied, "Naturally, we must strike back. Although Immortal Essence City is large, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, Ten Thousand Devil Ridge will certainly not give up easily. Their previous deployment was disrupted by Brother Yi Ye; while they suffered losses, they weren't truly debilitated. Once they regroup, they will definitely return in full force. My thought is, instead of passively defending like this, it's better to take the initiative. Let's rest today, and tomorrow we'll go challenge them. What do you think, Brother Yi Ye?"

"I have no objections."

What Ji Yan thought was exactly what Lu Ye himself had planned. However, at present, Lu Ye was acting alone. The Vast Sky Alliance was primarily led by the Divine Concealment Palace, and if the Divine Concealment Palace didn't make its intentions clear, it would be difficult to proceed.

Having ascertained Ji Yan's attitude, Lu Ye felt relieved.

"Brother Ji, do you know where there are any special spirits nearby?"

Since he was going to fight Ten Thousand Devil Ridge, he naturally needed to quickly replenish his revenants, especially special spirits like Liu Sanbao and the Pipa Girl; the more, the better.

He only had two special spirits under his command at the moment, but both Liu Sanbao and the Pipa Girl could play a far greater role than other revenants. The Pipa Girl, needless to say, in large-scale battles, her weeping and pipa music could cause a certain degree of mental disturbance to enemies, subtly restraining their power.

Although Liu Sanbao's performance wasn't as eye-catching as the Pipa Girl's, that was because her brilliance overshadowed him. His three dice were extremely lethal and could exert a far greater effect than any ninth-level cultivator.

Previously, when he relied on himself to find such special spirits, the chances of finding them were slim. Now that he had joined forces with the Divine Concealment Palace, he could naturally inquire.

Ji Yan's expression subtly changed upon hearing this, and he quickly realized something, saying, "As for special spirits, I do know one not far from here. If Brother Yi Ye is eager to go, I can have someone take you."

"Then I'd be grateful."

Ji Yan immediately sent a message, calling over an eighth-level combat cultivator. After giving him a few instructions, the cultivator nodded and led the way.

This combat cultivator clearly knew Lu Ye's identity and had witnessed Lu Ye and his revenants' methods from afar during the previous battle. However, certain things were impolite to ask directly, so he kept them to himself, simply chatting with Lu Ye about the various aspects of that special spirit. Lu Ye committed the information to memory.

Lu Ye felt a slight pity that they didn't encounter any Immortal Essence Guards on the way.

After walking a few streets, they soon arrived in front of a building with a lantern hanging by its entrance.

Lu Ye looked up to see a dilapidated plaque above the door, its inscription no longer discernible.

The eighth-level combat cultivator stopped, clearing his throat lightly. "Fellow Daoist Yi Ye, I won't be accompanying you inside."

Lu Ye nodded and pushed the door open, entering.

As soon as he stepped inside, the door slammed shut. Lu Ye surveyed the room, spotting a scholarly-looking spirit hunched over a broken table, writing furiously. It was unclear what he was writing, and he hadn't even noticed someone entering.

Lu Ye walked straight up, sat down opposite the scholar, and waited patiently.

A full half-hour later, the scholar finally finished a sheet of paper. He picked it up with a beaming smile, read it over, savored it, and proudly declared, "Truly a peerless masterpiece!"

He looked up at Lu Ye, an air of familiarity about him. "Perfect timing. Help me appraise this."

As he spoke, he handed the article in his hand to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye didn't take it. Instead, he reached down to stroke the fur of Amber, who was resting on his lap, and silently observed the scholar.

According to the combat cultivator, this scholar spirit wasn't dangerous, unlike Liu Sanbao, who might gamble his life away. He simply wrote an essay for visitors, and a word of praise was enough to satisfy him.

This was also why the combat cultivator hadn't entered with him. He had read the scholar's essay before; it was utter nonsense, and praising it against his conscience had truly pained him.

Lu Ye didn't know what abilities this scholar possessed, but the spiritual light emanating from his body was denser than Liu Sanbao's.

Lu Ye's finger paused on Amber's head, tapping it lightly twice. Suddenly, spirits drifted out, surrounding the scholar.

The scholar glanced left and right, then held his brush upright in front of his chest, putting on a brave but inwardly fearful front. "A gentleman uses his words, not his fists."

"Good!" Lu Ye readily agreed.

Then Amber lifted its head and let out a tiger's roar at him.

Moments later, the door opened. The combat cultivator waiting outside breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Ye emerge unharmed, having sensed significant commotion inside earlier.

"Brother Yi Ye, Brother Ji just sent a message. He's learned about two more locations from other rogue cultivators."

"Do you know where they are?"

"I have a rough idea."

"Then lead the way."

As they walked, the eighth-level combat cultivator finally witnessed how Lu Ye commanded his spirits. When they encountered Immortal Essence Guards on the way, Lu Ye eagerly pounced. Then, spirits drifted out from his beast companion's body, swiftly subduing a team of Immortal Essence Guards. The beast companion then swallowed them one by one.

This left him utterly astonished. He was by no means short-sighted, but he had never truly seen any spirit beast with such a unique ability to devour spirits and then command them.

An hour later, they arrived at the second location. This time, the eighth-level combat cultivator entered with Lu Ye, likely wanting to broaden his horizons. He then watched as a group of Immortal Essence Guards appeared, unleashing spiritual binding chains. Lu Ye moved in with a few slashes, and his beast companion followed suit.

The entire process was incredibly practiced, provoking much thought.

Another hour later, they reached the third location.

A moment later, they walked out side by side.

"Are there any more?" Lu Ye asked, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.

"No more," the eighth-level combat cultivator shook his head, his expression still a little dazed.

"Then let's look for Immortal Essence Guards."

Special spirits were rare finds, but Immortal Essence Guards were plentiful. Although their numbers were much lower than initially, they could still be encountered with enough searching.

It wasn't until half a day later that Lu Ye finally completed replenishing his revenants.

There weren't many at the squad leader level, only seven, but he had a full five special spirits. Besides the original Liu Sanbao and the Pipa Girl, he now had a scholar, a blind fortune-teller, and a butcher.

This lineup was certainly a bit odd.

On second thought, it wasn't surprising. These special spirits were originally cultivators from Immortal Essence City. When Immortal Essence City fell, they transformed into spirits for various reasons and remained. Naturally, they represented all walks of life, from all sorts of backgrounds.

Returning to their stronghold with the eighth-level combat cultivator, Ji Yan eagerly came forward to greet them, evidently having received some news from his fellow disciples.