Chapter 28: Lingxi Battlefield

A body cultivator, a spell cultivator, and a ghost cultivator had ambushed Elder Tang from the shadows, but were killed by him instead. Pang Zhen quickly pieced together the situation.

Moreover, judging by the residual energy from the fight in this area, the three individuals killed were all Divine Sea Realm cultivators. Their specific layers within the Divine Sea Realm, however, remained unknown.

Fighting one against three and killing all three opponents in such a short time indicated that Pang Zhen's long-held suspicion was correct: the old gentleman's cultivation was far from as simple as it appeared.

After all, he was one of the Nine Provinces' Three Heroes back in the day!

"Were they after you, Elder?" Pang Zhen broke the silence.

Elder Tang slowly shook his head. "They were after that young man."

He had initially thought the three individuals were after him, but during the fight, he discovered their target was actually Lu Ye! The female ghost cultivator, who was the most hidden, had made Lu Ye her primary target, nearly killing him. The wound on Elder Tang's waist and abdomen was sustained while shielding Lu Ye.

Finally, when Elder Tang sent Lu Ye away, the spell cultivator had shouted "mission failed," which undoubtedly explained everything.

"No way." Pang Zhen frowned. "Where is that young man now?"

He hadn't seen the young man named Lu Ye.

"He was sent into the Spirit Creek Battlefield."

Only then did Pang Zhen notice the crystal pillar in the ruins. He was slightly astonished. "A Heavenly Secret Pillar?" he murmured. "Is this... the ruins of White Dragon Institute, which was destroyed a hundred years ago?"

To enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, one must use a Heavenly Secret Pillar. These pillars are gifts from heaven and are typically located within various sects, big and small.

Of course, many Heavenly Secret Pillars are also scattered in the wilderness. Tracing back through history, one can learn that every unowned Heavenly Secret Pillar signifies the downfall of a sect.

Heavenly Secret Pillars are incredibly sturdy and divinely protected, making them difficult to destroy. Thus, even if a sect is annihilated, its Heavenly Secret Pillar can persist for many years. If someone wishes to establish a new sect in such a place, they merely need to respectfully invite the Heavenly Secret to gain ownership of the pillar and use it for their own purposes.

However, since White Dragon Institute was destroyed a hundred years ago, no sect has re-established itself here, and the area has remained desolate.

Pang Zhen himself was from Bing Province. As the Deputy Sect Master of Righteous Qi Sect and the Deputy Alliance Leader of the Vast Heaven Alliance, he knew with just a moment's thought which sect this Heavenly Secret Pillar belonged to.

"This is troublesome now." He frowned.

A Heavenly Secret Pillar can indeed send people into the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but if a cultivator enters the battlefield not through their own sect's pillar, there is only one outcome:

They will be randomly transported to a certain location within the battlefield.

The Spirit Creek Battlefield is incredibly vast, roughly the size of a province. Since that young man Lu Ye was sent in, no one knew where he was at this moment. Even if Pang Zhen were to send hundreds of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators into the battlefield to search, they might not find him.

What's more, the young man had only opened one Aperture...

With such low cultivation, he was practically doomed upon entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The minimum requirement for disciples sent by major sects into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was Spirit Creek Realm, first layer.

"Elder Tang..." Pang Zhen called out.

Elder Tang turned to face him, his eyes lowered. "My Azureblood Sect has retreated for thirty years," he said, "Yet those people still won't give up. They are going too far!"

Pang Zhen sighed inwardly, also greatly angered. Today's incident seemed merely an ambush on Elder Tang's return journey, but in reality, it involved a great deal. Not to mention, three Divine Sea Realm cultivators had died! These three Divine Sea Realm cultivators couldn't have appeared for no reason. Who was behind them? It was highly likely that the cultivation world of Bing Province would be severely shaken by this.

He could clearly feel Elder Tang's suppressed rage, like a volcano about to erupt. He had never seen Elder Tang in such a state.

"I never said I absolutely had to take that child into the sect," Elder Tang sneered. "I had originally planned to send him to another sect for cultivation later. But they couldn't even wait that short amount of time."

He looked at Pang Zhen, boundless fury burning in his eyes. "I want to know who dared to meddle in this!"

Pang Zhen understood perfectly. He nodded. "We will certainly provide an explanation to you, Elder," he said.

Elder Tang had been ambushed shortly after leaving the Flying Dragon Ship. How had the attackers known his whereabouts? And how could they have arranged the ambush location with such precision? Clearly, there was some hidden foul play involved.

"As for that young man, Lu Ye..." Pang Zhen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you need me to arrange for some people to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield?"

Elder Tang sadly shook his head. "No need."

Given the situation just now, leaving Lu Ye behind would have surely meant his death. Elder Tang, burdened by him, couldn't have fought effectively.

Helplessly, Elder Tang had no choice but to send him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. But what were the chances of survival for a cultivator who had only recently begun their training in such a place? Furthermore, he hadn't entered the battlefield through his own sect's Heavenly Secret Pillar, so heaven knew where he might appear. If he appeared in the territory of a sect from the Myriad Demon Ridge, he might already have been minced into paste.

Even if he miraculously survived, it would be nearly impossible for him to move freely within the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Elder Tang now only hoped that Lu Ye's luck was good enough for him to appear in an uninhabited area, giving him a slim chance of survival.

Of course, he would certainly search for him, but not through others. The matter should not be publicized; otherwise, if interested parties knew an Azureblood Sect disciple had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it would only add trouble for Lu Ye, turning a potential survival into a certain death.

It was precisely these considerations that led Elder Tang to strictly caution Lu Ye at the last moment: never reveal his identity!

On a massive tree, so large it would take several people to encircle its trunk, Lu Ye sat astride a branch, his face showing lingering fear.

Below him, dozens of robust, vicious wolves gathered. Each wolf was as large as a calf, baring their fangs at Lu Ye above.

He didn't know why he was in such a place, nor where the Sect Master had gone.

Previously, following the Sect Master's instructions, he had placed his hand on the crystal pillar. The whole world had blurred, and when his surroundings became clear again, he found himself in this jungle.

Not far away, a vicious wolf appeared. The wolf lunged at him, and Lu Ye quickly drew his longsword and, with great effort, killed it. However, more wolves gathered around.

Left with no choice, Lu Ye fled, eventually climbing this tree.

Sitting on the branch, he looked around. His gaze met countless massive trees, so large it would take several people to encircle their trunks. Their huge canopies obscured the sky, with only specks of sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves.

Where was this place? Where was the Sect Master? Where were the three people who had been chasing him? How did I end up here?

Lu Ye's mind was filled with questions.

He looked down at the wolves gathered below. It seemed they wouldn't leave anytime soon. Lu Ye felt helpless. The top priority was to figure out his situation; at the very least, he needed to know where he was.

He tried to recall his earlier conversation with the Sect Master and quickly grasped a key phrase.

"Spirit Creek Battlefield?"

The Sect Master had previously asked him if he had heard of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. In such a critical moment, the Sect Master wouldn't have asked irrelevant questions.

Afterward, the Sect Master had taken out a large seal, respectfully invoked the Heavenly Secret to bear witness, accepted him as a formal disciple of the Azureblood Sect, and stamped the back of his hand.

Thinking of this, Lu Ye quickly checked the back of his hand, but found nothing. After a slight pause for thought, he channeled spiritual power into the back of his hand.

The next moment, a miraculous scene unfolded.

A blue spiritual pattern suddenly appeared on the back of his hand. The pattern writhed and transformed, quickly forming several lines of large characters.

Name: Lu YeIdentity: Azureblood Sect DiscipleCultivation: Opened Three AperturesLocation: Spirit Creek BattlefieldMerits: None