Chapter 281: Dungeon

As a ghost cultivator, direct combat had never been Chu Qing's strong suit. If it hadn't been absolutely necessary this time, she wouldn't have revealed herself so early.

She had previously ganged up on Lu Ye with Qiao Yun and Ruo Yan, and knew how powerful and terrifying this young man was. So, when he said he would spare her life if she could block three of his strikes, Chu Qing didn't think he was boasting. He truly had the capability to back up such a claim.

Yet, she never imagined she wouldn't even be able to withstand a single one of his strikes.

That strike had no technique to speak of; it was purely suppression formed by speed and power...

The terrifying pressure suddenly vanished. Chu Qing felt no joy, but rather a chill down her spine, as a fiery-red stream of light flowed before her eyes once more.

This strike came from below, sweeping upward. The rising blade struck her twin swords. Her hands split at the web, her arms went numb, and both short swords flew out of her grasp.

Kneeling on the ground, her spirit artifacts lost, Chu Qing looked up just in time to see the young man before her thrust his blade straight forward, aiming for her heart.

This was the third strike!

If she blocked this one, would he truly spare her life?

This thought involuntarily popped into her mind.

She suddenly found herself ridiculous. When she had first discovered this young man in the valley, she had seen an opportunity to avenge Chu Xue. Yet, not only had their ambush failed to kill him, but it had also resulted in heavy losses for their side. Subsequent confrontations had caused countless casualties for the Windflower Academy.

Even now, at this critical juncture between life and death, she was still hoping for an enemy's mercy?

It turned out she wasn't as fearless as she imagined! Faced with death, she still wanted to live.

A dagger materialized in her hand. She didn't dodge the strike, because she couldn't. However, this was her chance. She had a treasure armor protecting her; the enemy's strike wouldn't kill her. As long as she survived, it would be the enemy's undoing.

The dagger in her hand flashed with spiritual light, and she swept it towards Lu Ye's neck.

The dagger froze at Lu Ye's neck, but Chu Qing felt as if she had lost all strength in her body, unable to move an inch. The pupils of her eyes sharply contracted.

She slowly lowered her head, seeing the slightly thick, not at all sharp long blade pierce through her treasure armor and run through her body.

The moment the long blade entered her body, thousands of long thorns suddenly sprouted, riddling her insides with holes.

"Who doesn't want to live?" Lu Ye spoke calmly, slowly withdrawing the Pan Mountain Blade.

Chu Qing's body crumpled to the ground, the light quickly fading from her eyes.

Indeed, who doesn't want to live? On Golden Light Peak, that fifth-level cultivator merely wanted to live, yet so many people wanted him dead. Perhaps they had never even met, and there was no animosity between them... What exactly was all this grievance and resentment for?

"ROAR!" Ju Jia's roar came from nearby.

Lu Ye flicked the blood off his Pan Mountain Blade, and looked up. He saw Ju Jia, enduring Ruo Yan's attacks, slowly pushing her into a corner. The defensive spirit artifact she had held earlier was nowhere to be seen, likely tossed aside by him. Ju Jia's body surged with vital energy; blood-red vital qi and earthy-yellow spiritual power intertwined. Although Ruo Yan's blade was sharp, it was difficult for it to inflict any substantial damage on him, at most causing some superficial wounds.

Ruo Yan must have been punched by Ju Jia, as her left shoulder blade had caved in, and her entire arm hung limply.

She struggled desperately, but it was ultimately futile.

When Ju Jia seized her long blade, completely disregarding the cuts on his hands, and violently pulled her towards him, everything ended.

Ju Jia's large foot kicked Ruo Yan's petite body, sending her flying. While in mid-air, the blood gushing from Ruo Yan's mouth contained fragments of internal organs.

Falling to the ground, Ruo Yan had lost the strength to move. Ju Jia's kick had practically knocked half her life out of her; she had countless broken bones.

Watching Ju Jia fight was a raw display of brutality, deeply shocking.

Ju Jia dropped the long blade he held, strode forward, bent down, and clamped his large hand around Ruo Yan's head. He lifted the barely breathing Ruo Yan, stared at her, and hot air billowed from his nose and mouth, like a savage beast ready to devour its prey.

Ruo Yan's lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something, but the surging blood only allowed her to make gurgling sounds.

Ju Jia tightened his grip on her head and slammed her violently onto the ground. A puddle of blood splattered on the ground.

"ROAR!" He roared up at the sky.

His great revenge was complete!

By the time Ji Yan arrived with a group of cultivators from the Divine Concealment Palace, the battle had already concluded. The deaths of these twenty individuals, led by Chu Qing, signified the complete annihilation of the Myriad Demon Ridge faction.

Perhaps some stragglers were hiding, but they were insignificant now. If encountered, they would be dealt with. As for actively seeking them out... there wasn't much point.

Lu Ye sat on a step, deciphering the restrictions on a storage bag. Ju Jia sat beside him, sharing dried meat with Amber.

Ji Yan stepped forward, looking as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.

"Is something the matter, Brother Ji?" Lu Ye asked proactively.

"There is something I need to ask of you," Ji Yan nodded. "It's like this: our Divine Concealment Palace was actually led by Senior Brother Gu Canyang this time..."

Slowly, Lu Ye understood what he was asking for.

Gu Canyang, as the station defender of the Divine Concealment Palace, possessed both strength and prestige. However, he had bad luck; he was captured by the Immortal Yuan Guards upon entering Immortal Yuan City.

Generally, when such a situation occurred, one could only accept their misfortune. In the past, some had tried to rescue captured cultivators, but the results always proved it was impossible.

The dungeon appeared to be a vital stronghold of Immortal Yuan City. Numerous Immortal Yuan Guards were stationed there, including many at the commander level. It was simply not something cultivators of the Spirit Stream Realm could handle, no matter how many there were.

Originally, the Divine Concealment Palace hadn't planned to rescue him, but Lu Ye had previously obtained a token from the woman in the red dress, which gave them hope.

Only then did Lu Ye understand why the Vast Heaven Alliance, despite having roughly the same number of people as Myriad Demon Ridge at first, had been at a disadvantage during their encounters. It turned out Ji Yan wasn't the permanent station guard of the Divine Concealment Palace; he had merely been appointed under urgent circumstances, and his command ability was naturally lacking.

As for rescuing people from the dungeon, Lu Ye hadn't considered it, as those cultivators imprisoned there had little to do with him. However, after hearing Ji Yan's words, he vaguely felt the plan might work.

It was a great effort to help the woman in the red dress capture Tang Yuan, and for her to only give him a seemingly useless token in return was indeed somewhat unreasonable.

If that token could grant access to the dungeon, then the situation would be different.

He took the token from his storage bag and tossed it to Ji Yan.

Ji Yan took it, extremely delighted, and thanked him repeatedly.

He immediately led a group of Divine Concealment Palace cultivators towards the dungeon, intending to quickly rescue Gu Canyang.

But less than an hour later, the Divine Concealment Palace cultivators returned, looking disheveled, and with fewer people than before.

Lu Ye looked at them, puzzled, wondering what had happened.

Ji Yan said with a bitter expression, "Brother Yi Ye, this matter might still require your personal intervention."

"Is the token useless?"

If the token was useless, then his personal involvement wouldn't help either.

"It's not a problem with the token itself," Ji Yan explained. "Earlier, I had my disciples take the token to the dungeon. However, the Immortal Yuan Guards there claimed they were misusing the token, and several disciples were captured on the spot. If the disciple holding the token hadn't reacted quickly and thrown it back, the token might have been lost as well."

Lu Ye now understood why there were fewer Divine Concealment Palace cultivators; they had gone there and been captured by the Immortal Yuan Guards.

Fortunately, the Divine Concealment Palace cultivators had also gathered some intelligence: the token was indeed useful. The problem was the person holding the token was not the right one, which made the Immortal Yuan Guards believe they had stolen it.

Ji Yan had confirmed this on the way back. When Lu Ye had previously encountered Immortal Yuan Guards, a mere flash of the token had deterred the patrolling guards. But now, when he sent others with the token to find the patrolling guards, it was completely ineffective; they still attacked.

After much thought, Ji Yan concluded that only Lu Ye's personal involvement could resolve the matter. That was why he had returned to find him.

Lu Ye hadn't expected things to be this way. Now that he thought about it, the woman in the red dress giving him the token meant he had her recognition. It was truly only he or Ju Jia who could use it; others wouldn't be able to activate its power.

"Then I'll go myself," Lu Ye said, "but I can't guarantee success."

Lu Ye stood up.

Ji Yan was profoundly grateful. "Whether it succeeds or not, the entire Divine Concealment Palace will forever remember Fellow Daoist Yi Ye's great kindness."

"Let's go." Lu Ye gestured. He didn't know where the dungeon was and had never been there.

Ji Yan immediately led the way.

Less than half an hour later, the group arrived at a corner of the city. A building stood before them, with a large round plaque bearing the character 'Prison' hanging above. This was likely the Immortal Yuan City dungeon.

Dozens of Immortal Yuan Guards stood outside the dungeon, and small teams patrolled nearby. It was evident the defenses were extremely strong.

Lu Ye observed for a moment, knowing this was not a place to force his way into. These were just the Immortal Yuan Guards visible on the outside; Heaven knew how many more were inside the dungeon.

"I'm going," Lu Ye said, then strode forward. Amber crouched on his shoulder, holding the token in its mouth.

Ju Jia stepped to follow, and Lu Ye glanced back at him.

"Together," Ju Jia said.

"Fellow Daoist Yi Ye, if it's impossible, don't force it," Ji Yan's voice came from behind.

As they walked, they quickly arrived at the dungeon entrance. Each Immortal Yuan Guard stationed there merely glanced at Lu Ye, and then paid him no mind.

Seeing this, the constantly anxious Ji Yan finally sighed in relief. Things were indeed as he had suspected: the token was only effective for Lu Ye and Ju Jia; others, even if they held it, would be pursued by the Immortal Yuan Guards.

They walked directly to the dungeon entrance, when an Immortal Yuan Guard suddenly blocked their path.

Ju Jia's flesh began to ripple. Lu Ye's fingers rested on his saber hilt, because this Immortal Yuan Guard was very powerful. Judging by the spiritual light emanating from his body, he was significantly stronger than Feng Yuechan. This was likely a Spirit of the Cloud River Realm.

If they were to fight, even the two of them together would be no match.