Chapter 304: Old Nine-Layer Realm Veteran

**Winds Rise Across the Nine Provinces**

Lu Ye’s original plan was to wait until he advanced to the Ninth-Layer Realm before leaving the Divine Hidden Palace's outpost, using the opportunity to lie low. However, the Hundred Formations Pagoda, as described by Zhao Li, was too great a temptation for him to resist. Although enemies were secretly watching him now, Lu Ye wasn't afraid. As long as the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction acted within the unspoken rules, they couldn't do anything to him. His only fear was that the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge might become desperate and resort to extreme measures.

It wasn't until dusk that the faint sense of being watched finally disappeared. No matter how meticulously the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction planned, no one could constantly keep an eye on him; there would always be times they lost sight of him. Lu Ye had Ju Jia lower their escape light, and they flew into a patch of jungle.

Lighting a bonfire, Ju Jia took several pieces of beast meat from his storage bag. He first gave a piece to Amber, then skewered the rest over the fire to roast. He handled these tasks with practiced ease, clearly having done them often while with Sima Yang. Soon, hot oil sizzled, and the aroma of meat wafted through the air. Ju Jia then produced some seasonings and salt from who knows where, sprinkling them onto the meat. The fragrance immediately grew richer. Before the meat was fully cooked, Ju Jia began to feast heartily, but not before giving a piece to Lu Ye. Lu Ye wasn't particular and happily ate alongside him. This way of eating large portions of meat undoubtedly pleased Ju Jia, and he had grown much closer to Lu Ye in recent days.

Lu Ye realized something: most members of their group, except for Yi Yi, seemed to be big eaters. He and Amber, of course, were massive consumers of spirit pills, currently using forty to fifty pills daily. Ju Jia rarely took spirit pills before, as Sima Yang didn't provide them. His current cultivation was entirely due to his own meditation and absorption of spiritual energy. Now with Lu Ye, who wouldn't be as stingy as Sima Yang, Ju Jia could take as many spirit pills as he needed. However, he didn't consume an excessive amount, as taking too many pills would affect the purity of his spiritual power.

After a satisfying meal, the two men and one tiger were content. Lu Ye then took out the scale armor, first absorbing a bloodline from it himself, then giving one to Amber and one to Ju Jia to absorb. Previously, he wouldn't dare do this. He would always place the scale armor in a spirit-gathering array during training in a cultivation room, allowing the blood essence to atomize and be slowly absorbed and refined. But with his cultivation improving and his soul power strengthening, direct absorption like this was no longer an issue. The same was true for Amber; ever since returning from Immortal Essence City, absorbing the bloodlines from the scale armor no longer caused her to stiffen up like before. From this perspective, the strengthening of soul power brought many unexpected benefits. Lu Ye estimated that if he entered the Mirage Realm again now, the after-effects wouldn't be as severe as before. Previously, every time he "died" and exited the Mirage Realm, he would suffer from splitting headaches. However, he had recently been engrossed in the art of formations and hadn't gone to the Mirage Realm to temper himself.

After extinguishing the bonfire, Ju Jia meditated and cultivated, while Lu Ye held a book, reading by the moonlight. Amber lay beside him, already snoring.

A thin, small figure quietly approached from a hundred zhang away. This figure seemed almost entirely merged with its surroundings, leaving no trace. Even its aura and vital energy were blocked by an unknown force, preventing any leakage. Its movements were incredibly light; it wouldn't make a sound even when stepping on a leaf. Its speed wasn't slow, almost that of a person walking normally, clearly indicating extreme confidence in its stealth abilities. Previously, the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had lost track of Lu Ye, only knowing he had vanished nearby, but no one knew his exact location. Now, many from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction were secretly searching, and without exception, these were all Ghost Cultivators, as only they were best suited for such a task. Hidden in the shadows, the Ghost Cultivator stared at the young figure ahead. Even his heart, which had been dormant for many years, couldn't help but ripple with a hint of excitement. Because if he could kill this young man named Lu Yiye, he might finally have hope of reaching the Cloud River Realm!

Last time, to remove the Jadeblood Sect's name, the major sects of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction collectively offered an incredibly generous bounty, enough for any cultivator to live comfortably for a lifetime. This time was similar; although the reward wasn't as substantial as before, it was still enough for him to buy over a hundred Obstacle-Breaking Pills. With so many, he could open subsequent spiritual apertures and meet the requirements for advancing to the Cloud River Realm. He had waited thirty full years for this day!

Within the Spirit Creek Realm, there was a very special group of cultivators known as 'Veteran Ninth-Layers'! This was not a term of praise or disparagement, but simply a very fitting description. Not every Spirit Creek Realm cultivator was qualified to advance to the Cloud River Realm. Opening spiritual apertures became progressively more difficult the further one went, and everyone had their limits. Of the human body's three hundred and sixty apertures, only about ten percent of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could truly open all of them. Without exception, these individuals were among the most talented cultivators. Could the remaining ninety percent not advance to the Cloud River Realm? Of course, they could. Once a cultivator reached the Ninth-Layer Realm, as long as they acquired a Heaven-tier cultivation method and opened two hundred and forty spiritual apertures, then switched their original cultivation method to the corresponding Heaven-tier one, they could then choose to advance to the Cloud River Realm. In other words, to advance to the Cloud River Realm, a cultivator needed to open at least two hundred and forty spiritual apertures; even one less wouldn't suffice. However, there were still many people in this world who couldn't open that many spiritual apertures. Some reached their limit after opening just over two hundred, like this thin Ghost Cultivator, who had only opened two hundred and twenty-three apertures, falling short by seventeen from the minimum requirement for advancing to the Cloud River Realm. And he had been stuck at the Ninth-Layer of the Spirit Creek Realm for thirty years. Those whose cultivation had stagnated at the Ninth-Layer of the Spirit Creek Realm for years, unable to open further spiritual apertures and thus advance to the Cloud River Realm, were known as 'Veteran Ninth-Layers'. They were a very unique group within the Spirit Creek Realm. The strength of these individuals often couldn't be simply categorized by their Ninth-Layer status, because almost every one of them could display power beyond the Ninth-Layer Realm. Many sects had such individuals. If one encountered older Spirit Creek Realm cultivators on the Spirit Creek battlefield, they were generally 'Veteran Ninth-Layers'. With their cultivation stagnant and unable to progress further, they would find ways to enhance their own strength. Thus, these 'Veteran Ninth-Layers' often possessed unusual techniques that ordinary cultivators lacked. Take this Ghost Cultivator, for example. His art of stealth, among other things, had reached an almost divine level. Even most Ghost Cultivators in the core circle who had switched to Heaven-tier cultivation methods couldn't compare.

Lu Yiye of the Jadeblood Sect was adept at fighting above his rank; he had demonstrated this talent at Golden Light Peak. Earlier, during the capture of the Windflower Pavilion's outpost, he had used his Eighth-Layer Realm cultivation to sever Moon Charm's arm with two strikes and seize the grand formation's jade token. These facts were not secret, and the Ghost Cultivator had naturally heard of them. However, fighting above one's rank was not exclusive to Lu Ye; many geniuses in the cultivation world possessed this ability. The Ghost Cultivator group, in particular, excelled at defeating stronger opponents because they rarely engaged in direct combat. As long as they found the right opportunity, fighting one, two, or even three ranks above them was not an issue. Therefore, the task of this stealthy Ghost Cultivator, who had crept in while hidden, was simple: sneak behind Lu Ye, launch a sudden attack, deliver a fatal blow, sever his head, and take it back to claim the bounty!

That body cultivator named Ju Jia was a bit troublesome. Once his presence was exposed, the big man would surely attack him. However, he was confident in his speed, so as long as he could block Ju Jia's initial strike, he could calmly escape. There were some risks, but compared to the reward, what were they? To advance to the Cloud River Realm, these risks had to be taken. The plan was perfect.

However, as he closed in to three zhang from Lu Ye, his body suddenly froze. Because at that instant, Lu Ye, who had been reading, suddenly closed his book, raised his eyes, and looked in his direction. Their eyes met, and the Ghost Cultivator felt a chill run from his head to his soles. "Discovered? Impossible! How could a mere Eighth-Layer Realm Soldier Cultivator discover his traces?" He had absolute confidence in his stealth techniques, having once used them to assassinate a Heaven-tier Seventh-Layer Realm cultivator. To this day, he remembered the look of disbelieving shock in the man's eyes before he died. "If even a Heaven-tier Seventh-Layer Realm couldn't detect his movements, how could an Eighth-Layer Realm cultivator possibly manage it? Right, I haven't been exposed. There must be something unusual behind me that caught Lu Yiye's attention." He made this judgment because not only did Lu Yiye look in his direction, but Ju Jia, who was meditating nearby, also opened his eyes and stared at him. Even the beast lying beside Lu Yiye lifted its head, gazing intently in his direction. Three pairs of eyes fixed on him; the pressure on the Ghost Cultivator was immense...

An ordinary young person would likely have buckled under such pressure, but having cultivated for so many years, he had seen many trials and tribulations. So, even though he was startled, he remained composed. He did his utmost to retract his aura, pushing his stealth technique to its absolute limit, and slowly shifted a step to the side. A chilling scene unfolded: the three pairs of eyes watching him turned along with him. Lu Ye, even more intrigued, propped his chin with one hand and rested the other on the Pan Mountain Blade at his waist, his fingers lightly tapping the scabbard. This completely threw the old Ghost Cultivator off. It was one thing for Lu Yiye to see through his stealth; perhaps the young man was exceptionally gifted. But how could Ju Jia, that brute of a body cultivator, possess such keen perception? And that beast, what right did it have? Was his decades of Ghost Cultivation mastery, including communing with the netherworld, truly so fragile?

The unburnt embers of the nearby bonfire flickered, emitting a soft crackle. The old Ghost Cultivator's figure turned into a blur, lunging directly at Lu Ye, who was three zhang away. What greeted him was a flash of dazzling blade light. Blood splattered as flesh peeled back from a wound on the old Ghost Cultivator's chest; he was almost cleaved in two by a single strike. He quickly retreated, perfectly embodying the essence of a Ghost Cultivator's hit-and-run strategy: if a strike misses, flee a thousand li.