Chapter 289: Leaving

Wind Rises in Kyushu

As the City Lord finished speaking, a slowly rotating vortex suddenly appeared in the sky. Initially, the vortex wasn't very large, but it rapidly expanded, quickly engulfing an area a hundred *zhang* in radius.

Looking out, it seemed as if the sky had a gaping hole.

It was unclear where the vortex led, but strange movements faintly emanated from within it.

All the spiritual entities in Xianyuan City looked up, gazing at it.

Under countless watchful gazes, a three-zhang-long insectoid creature, covered in carapace, with four legs and a triangular head, resembling a giant mantis, crawled out from the vortex. It clung to the vicinity of the vortex, its complex compound eyes reflecting the scene of the city below.

Rustling sounds emerged. A second mantis-like insectoid appeared, followed by a third, then a fourth... In an instant, they became a swarming, overwhelming horde.

It was as if a floodgate had opened; countless insectoids of varying sizes and forms poured out from the rotating vortex.

In just ten breaths of time, the sky and ground near the vortex were swarming with insectoids, and more were still pouring out.

“Kill!” Roars rang out, and multicolored lights enveloped the area from all directions. Powerful insectoids were turned to pulp within steps, but they advanced relentlessly, one after another, as if endless and impossible to defeat. The surviving insectoids trampled over the bodies of the fallen, charging forward frantically. Their broken bodies crashed into the spiritual entities, mouthparts tearing and clawed limbs slashing, and one by one, the spiritual entities quickly dimmed.

After roughly half a *zhan cha*, the spiritual entities' first defensive line was breached. Another *zhan cha* later, the second line collapsed.

After a *zhuxiang* of time, the fourth defensive line was once again breached, and an unknown number of spiritual entities were shattered.

Inside the City Lord's Manor, in the Soul Cleansing Pond, spiritual entities continuously reformed their bodies using their soul imprints and flew out, joining the battlefield without looking back.

Even though the spiritual entities could not truly perish, the feeling of their spiritual forms shattering was indistinguishable from death each time it happened.

The spiritual entities had endured this kind of brutal combat countless times before.

Just half a day after the war began, half of the vast Xianyuan City had fallen. It was only then that the spiritual entities of Xianyuan City gradually managed to halt the insectoids' advance.

Both sides continued to fight fiercely, with the city's centerline serving as their dividing boundary.

Every participating spiritual entity had “died” several times.

It was clear that without the Soul Cleansing Pond, Xianyuan City would have been breached long ago. It was precisely by relying on the Soul Cleansing Pond that the spiritual entities of Xianyuan City were able to continuously revive from the pond and return to battle.

This was Xianyuan City's choice years ago: from the City Lord down to ordinary citizens, they sacrificed the entire city, used the Soul Cleansing Pond as a foundation, shed the shackles of their physical bodies, and gained near-immortal power to resist the insectoids.

One should not consider this a blessing. While immortality might seem advantageous in the short term, repeatedly participating in brutal battles and experiencing the sensation of death again and again on that basis was sheer torment.

In its prime, Xianyuan City was a top-tier power throughout Kyushu, no less, perhaps even stronger, than today's first-rank sects.

However, for the sake of Kyushu, Xianyuan City had no choice but to make this sacrifice.

Because someone always had to step forward.

Standing alongside Xianyuan City were seventeen other top-tier powers. The small spaces where these eighteen powers now resided were collectively known as the Boundless Mirage.

Inside the City Lord's Manor, the City Lord looked up at the vortex in the sky. He could sense a faint, heart-stopping aura from within it, more pronounced than his last encounter.

Time... was truly running out. Xianyuan City might withstand this attack, the next, and the one after that, but there would inevitably come a day when it could no longer hold. If no solution was found by then, the entire Kyushu would face imminent destruction.

He hoped someone would step forward before that happened.

The City Lord couldn't help but recall that young man. If it were him... there might be a chance.

A large, ship-shaped flying spiritual artifact slowly approached, carrying people from Lingyun Hall.

Earlier, when news of the Boundless Mirage's opening spread, four nearby powers rushed to it. However, Lingyun Hall was delayed on the way and couldn't make it in time, resulting in only three powers entering Xianyuan City.

The people from Lingyun Hall didn't leave; instead, they waited nearby until they received a message from Gu Canyang just now, prompting them to come for the rendezvous.

This time, Lingyun Hall was led by Deputy Envoy Zhou Pei, with roughly a hundred people.

He and Gu Canyang were old acquaintances; after all, their respective strongholds were not far apart, and their relationship was good.

Upon meeting, they naturally exchanged greetings.

Communication with the outside world was impossible within Xianyuan City, so no one knew where the Boundless Mirage had connected this time or what the situation inside was like.

Now learning that the Boundless Mirage had connected to Xianyuan City, Zhou Pei was greatly surprised. The environment in Xianyuan City was notoriously harsh, and for Shenyin Palace to survive with so many people, despite being outnumbered two to one, truly made him see them in a new light and filled him with admiration for Gu Canyang.

Gu Canyang blushed...

Truth be told, his experience this time was truly embarrassing: he was captured upon entering Xianyuan City and imprisoned in the dungeon. If Lu Ye hadn't come to rescue him, he would likely be dead by now. He quickly stopped Zhou Pei's praises and whispered the truth to him.

As he gradually learned the truth, Zhou Pei's expression became increasingly interesting.

He had heard of Lu Yiye from the Azureblood Sect, but on Golden Radiance Peak, Lu Ye only had a fifth-level cultivation, which was still some distance from theirs, so he had merely heard the name and hadn't paid much attention.

He never expected that in such a short time, the person who had made a name for himself on Golden Radiance Peak had already reached the inner circle and once again shone brightly in Xianyuan City.

This time was even more exaggerated; he had almost single-handedly crippled the entire Wind Blossom Pavilion, allowing Shenyin Palace to stabilize the situation and turn defeat into victory.

Seeing Lu Ye's potential, Zhou Pei naturally wished to befriend him.

A moment later, the large ship ascended, and under the control of Lingyun Hall's cultivators, it flew towards Shenyin Palace's stronghold.

Meanwhile, Wind Blossom Pavilion and Scorching Sun Mountain also received news of the Boundless Mirage's closure. To their horror, none of their many cultivators who had entered it had returned alive, and even among the rogue cultivators from Ten-Thousand Demon Ridge, only a few had survived.

From the accounts of those few survivors, the two factions gradually pieced together what had happened in Xianyuan City, finding it difficult to accept.

The total number of cultivators who entered the Boundless Mirage this time was approximately five or six hundred, with Ten-Thousand Demon Ridge accounting for over sixty percent, essentially giving them an inherent advantage.

However, the final result was that Ten-Thousand Demon Ridge was almost entirely annihilated, while over a hundred cultivators from the Vast Sky Alliance survived.

How exactly the Vast Sky Alliance achieved this, the few survivors weren't entirely clear, as they had gone into hiding when they realized the situation was unfavorable and hadn't dared to show themselves until Xianyuan City closed.

They only vaguely heard that someone from the Vast Sky Alliance could command Xianyuan City's spiritual entities in battle, which was what led to Ten-Thousand Demon Ridge's heavy losses.

Upon hearing this news, the Heavenly Mystery Merchant Alliance also began verifying it through various channels. While the Alliance did not participate in the conflict between the two major factions, such unprecedented information could fetch a high price. If they could figure out how to command spiritual entities, they would undoubtedly gain immense profit, as no one had ever been able to command spiritual entities within Xianyuan City or any other Boundless Mirage before.

It was foreseeable that what happened in Xianyuan City would spread widely before long. While Shenyin Palace's cultivators might keep silent, the surviving rogue cultivators from the Vast Sky Alliance might not be able to. They lived austere lives, and if the Merchant Alliance offered a suitable price, many pieces of information might well be sold.

Of course, even if the news spread, it wouldn't matter much. The ability to transform spiritual entities into subservient spirits belonged to Amber, not Lu Ye, so even if others knew, they couldn't replicate it.

Two hours later, within Shenyin Palace's stronghold, the grand formation opened, and the large ship descended.

The people from Lingyun Hall didn't linger. They had waited outside for a month just to rendezvous with those from Shenyin Palace. Now that their mission was complete, they naturally had to return to their own stronghold.

However, before departing, Zhou Pei extended an invitation to Lu Ye, asking him to be a guest at Lingyun Hall's stronghold.

That night, Gu Canyang hosted a banquet, thanking Lu Ye for saving his life and for everything he had done in Xianyuan City. Amidst clinking cups and lively exchanges, both host and guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

The next day, Lu Ye woke the sleeping Ju Jia and led him directly to Shenyin Palace's Heavenly Mystery Hall.

Lu Ye was currently not far from the ninth-level realm. Once a cultivator reached the ninth-level, they needed to find a Heaven-tier cultivation method, otherwise, subsequent spiritual apertures couldn't be opened. This matter required foresight, to avoid being unprepared when the need arose.

He had no shortage of merit points; he only needed to find a suitable cultivation method.

As for Ju Jia, he had been stuck at the ninth-level realm for an unknown period. With Sima Yang dead, he had nowhere to go. Since he was willing to follow Lu Ye, Lu Ye naturally intended to recruit him into the Azureblood Sect.

Therefore, he also needed to acquire a Heaven-tier cultivation method for Ju Jia.

Ju Jia had no merit points, but that was alright. Merit points could be obtained not only by defeating enemies but also by selling items to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury.

Lu Ye had many unneeded spiritual artifacts, especially flying ones. If Ju Jia took them to sell to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury, it should be enough to accumulate sufficient merit points.

Doing so would undoubtedly be a significant loss, as there was a large discrepancy in merit points between buying and selling items at the Heavenly Mystery Treasury. For instance, his Mountain-Coiling Blade had a nearly fifty percent difference in its merit point value.

However, this was the only way to quickly accumulate enough merit points for Ju Jia to purchase a Heaven-tier cultivation method.

Many top sects used this method to rapidly accumulate merit points for their outstanding disciples.

The two entered the Heavenly Mystery Hall together. Ju Jia likely hadn't encountered the Heavenly Mystery Treasury before, but fortunately, despite his dull and somewhat foolish demeanor, he wasn't unintelligent. Lu Ye only explained it to him briefly, and he understood.

Activating his battlefield imprint to communicate with the Heavenly Mystery Treasury, Ju Jia searched for a cultivation method suitable for himself.

Lu Ye also searched alongside him.