Chapter 313: Swallowing and Emitting Moonlight

Yu Xiao reacted swiftly. Even though Shui Yuan hadn't given him any prior notice, the moment she cried out, "Give me back my junior brother's life!", he instantly grasped her intention. With a strange feeling, he played along with her act. The four True Lake Realm cultivators who subsequently arrived were genuinely unaware of the charade, which made the battle astonishingly realistic.

And that wasn't the end of it. After the "highly respected" Sect Master intervened to mediate, Shui Yuan's anger was clearly far from appeased, and she once again plunged into the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Not only her, but the Sect Master was even more outrageous, venturing all the way to Leizhou, which was well-known territory of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

Additionally, the fourth senior brother also became active within the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Currently, Shui Yuan has returned to the Azure Blood Sect's main headquarters, and the Sect Master is also on his way back. He had no choice; Leizhou's defenses were impenetrable, leaving him no exploitable opportunities. Furthermore, the Alliance Leader of the Vast Heaven Alliance personally messaged him, urging the elderly Sect Master to quell his anger and not risk venturing alone.

The Sect Master then took advantage of the situation and withdrew from Leizhou.

As for the fourth senior brother, the Danxin Gate severely reprimanded him and then confined him to their outpost, forbidding him from leaving without an official order.

After several days of uproar, the incident concerning Lu Yiye of the Azure Blood Sect, who was allegedly poisoned to death, finally began to subside.

In the grand scheme of the Nine Provinces' cultivation world, Lu Yiye was merely a junior Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had feared him due to his demonstrated prowess in breaking formations, but with his supposed death, there was no longer any need for them to stir up further trouble.

As for Lu Yiye himself, many garrison envoys and deputy envoys from various sects had recently sent messages inquiring about his fate. While others might not know, those who had mutually added him as a "friend" were certainly aware.

This matter couldn't be hidden from them. Furthermore, these garrison envoys were all respected pillars of their respective sects, with impeccable reputations, and would naturally not leak any information. Lu Yiye didn't explain much, simply stating it was unavoidable, and those individuals, being intelligent, largely understood his meaning.

Recently, major sects across the Nine Provinces have been investigating their own disciples to prevent similar incidents from reoccurring. This extensive vetting led to significant losses of hidden agents deployed by both sides, which can be considered an unintended consequence of the recent events.

Another message arrived on the Battlefield Imprint. Lu Yiye checked it; it was from Hua Ci.

"Today is your seventh day. What do you want? I'll burn it for you."

Lu Yiye expressionlessly averted his gaze, stood up, and headed towards Bai Qian's dwelling.

Lu Yiye's invitation to the Tianyan Sect outpost was specifically to further his mastery of formation arts. Due to its advantageous location near the Hundred Formations Pagoda, many Tianyan Sect disciples specialized in formations, though their individual proficiency varied widely.

Within the entire Tianyan Sect, Grand Elder Bai Qian undoubtedly possessed the highest mastery of formation arts, a level even Sect Master Yu Xiao couldn't match. Consequently, Lu Yiye had spent these past few days with Bai Qian, studying formation arts under his tutelage.

Given that Lu Yiye had previously used such a precious item to heal Zhao Li, Bai Qian taught him without any reservations, leading to immense progress for Lu Yiye, whose proficiency in formation arts steadily climbed.

The primary reason for studying formation arts with Bai Qian first was that a higher level of mastery would make it considerably easier to challenge the Hundred Formations Pagoda.

After a period of instruction, Bai Qian discovered Lu Yiye's exceptional talent in formation arts, though this was deemed normal given Lu Yiye's prior foundation as a Spirit Mark Master.

Formation cultivators are considered a branch of Spirit Mark Masters, and with the solid foundation Lu Yiye had built under Madam Yun, his progress in cultivation of formation arts naturally became twice as effective with half the effort.

What particularly impressed Bai Qian was Lu Yiye's astonishingly keen eye for breaking formations; he could always find a flaw in any formation after just a brief observation.

This was an almost dream-like ability for a formation cultivator, as breaking any formation first requires identifying its flaws and key nodes; without that, breaking the formation is utterly impossible.

Bai Qian initially attributed this to Lu Yiye's innate talent, but after several days of observation, he sensed something was amiss and finally voiced his doubts.

Lu Yiye didn't conceal it. "Elder Bai, are you familiar with the Insight Spirit Mark?"

"Of course, I know," Bai Qian replied. As a grandmaster of formation arts, he also possessed some proficiency in spirit marks, though those he knew were primarily related to formations.

He was aware of the Insight Spirit Mark, but he was not proficient in constructing it; succeeding even once out of ten attempts was considered a good outcome for him.

Some restrictions within spirit artifacts used for environmental detection or scouting enemy positions were built around this very spirit mark.

"I construct the Insight Spirit Mark within my eyes, allowing me to perceive the true nature of formations."

Bai Qian stared blankly at Lu Yiye, as if he believed he was joking.

However, reflecting on Lu Yiye's consistent performance in breaking formations, he realized it was no joke; this young man had truly constructed the Insight Spirit Mark within his own eyes.

"So that's it," Bai Qian murmured, nodding slightly and sighing with emotion. "Young people are truly remarkable for daring to conceive and execute such feats."

Constructing a spirit mark within one's eyes was an incredibly daring act.

"Do not attempt such a feat frequently," Bai Qian warned sternly. "Should any mishap occur, the consequences would be unimaginable." Although Lu Yiye was not a Tianyan Sect disciple, his exceptional talent in formation arts these past few days had deeply impressed Bai Qian, who, being someone who cherished talent, felt compelled to offer such a warning.

This was simply too dangerous.

The danger of constructing the Insight Spirit Mark within one's eyes was no less than constructing a Spirit Gathering Mark within one's spirit apertures.

Throughout history, countless Spirit Mark Masters have diligently passed down and researched their craft through generations. It was inconceivable that Lu Yiye was the only clever one; ancestral Spirit Mark Masters had also considered constructing Spirit Gathering Marks within spirit apertures to enhance cultivation efficiency, and similarly, they had pondered constructing them within the eyes to perceive secrets invisible to the naked eye.

Yet, no one dared to attempt it. Even the most exceptional Spirit Mark Masters could not guarantee success during construction, and the smaller the spirit mark, the greater the difficulty. An accidental failure in construction would inevitably lead to rampant spiritual energy.

Such a scenario would result in damaged spirit apertures and, ultimately, blindness.

Consequently, these concepts remained largely theoretical; no one dared to attempt them. Even a Spirit Mark Grandmaster like Madam Yun lacked absolute certainty of success.

Lu Yiye was different; when he activated the spirit marks held within his Talent Tree, there was no possibility of failure, allowing him to act without restraint.

If he had learned the Insight Spirit Mark from a book, he would never have dared to attempt it.

He sensed Bai Qian's concern, but this was something he couldn't explain. Furthermore, during his recent studies of formation arts with Bai Qian, he would first rely on his innate ability to observe a formation's flaws. After forming a preliminary judgment, he would then activate the Insight Spirit Mark to verify it. Sometimes his judgments were correct, other times they were not, allowing him to learn valuable lessons and enhance his experience in breaking formations.

With his warning given, whether Lu Yiye chose to heed it was his own concern. Bai Qian said no more. With a casual wave, a small flag appeared in his hand. "Today, let's discuss formation flags and formation foundations..."

Lu Yiye immediately sat up straight, attentive.

Days passed. By day, he cultivated formation arts under Elder Bai, and by night, he focused on his own cultivation while also poring over the texts he had brought from Madam Yun, using them to corroborate his newfound knowledge.

Elder Bai's residence was exceptionally quiet. His standing within the Tianyan Sect was very high; although not the Sect Master, even Yu Xiao treated him with the respect of a disciple. Thus, Lu Yiye and the others remained undetected while hiding there.

Furthermore, it was rumored that Bai Qian had been injured by the residual shockwaves during the Azure Blood Sect Seal Master's earlier rampage. Therefore, the sect's medical cultivators visited him daily for treatment, and no one dared to disturb him during this period.

Ju Jia spent his days in meditation and cultivation. Although the cultivation environment here wasn't as good as the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he didn't waste a single moment.

Zhao Li's condition was also improving daily. Furthermore, thanks to the Soul Cleansing Water, its latent benefits slowly began to manifest. In recent days, Zhao Li noticed several changes: his control over spiritual power seemed enhanced, and his sensory abilities had noticeably improved. This left him utterly perplexed, wondering how surviving a near-death experience could have turned into such a blessing.

Yet, whenever he recalled the outpost being overrun, he felt an unbearable pang of heartache. Regardless of the reasons, the Tianyan Sect outpost had been lost under his command, an undeniable fact.

One evening, as Lu Yiye was reading and cultivating, Yi Yi suddenly floated in through the window, frantically calling out, "Lu Yiye! Lu Yiye!"

Lu Yiye looked up at her.

Yi Yi exclaimed, "Ju Jia and Amber are doing something strange, you should go check it out!"

A moment later, Lu Yiye followed Yi Yi to a protruding rock, beneath which lay a dark, black cliff.

The moon was high in the sky, casting down its clear, cool light.

On the rock ahead, both Ju Jia and Amber were prostrate on all fours, heads held high, alternately raising and lowering them. Strangely, visible moonlight gathered above their heads and was absorbed into their bodies with each breath they exhaled and inhaled.

The moonlight, like transparent, pure white ribbons, danced lightly. From a distance, it looked as if a bridge of moonlight spanned between heaven and earth.

As Ju Jia and Amber continued their rhythmic breathing, both figures became enveloped in a faint, shimmering glow.

Lu Yiye raised an eyebrow.

"Are they alright?" Yi Yi asked.

"When did this start?"

"Just a few days ago."

Lu Yiye usually spent his nights cultivating or reading, so he wasn't aware of external happenings. However, Yi Yi and Amber shared an unbreakable connection, allowing Yi Yi to always sense if anything occurred with Amber.

Starting a few days prior, Ju Jia began coming here at night, with Amber always accompanying him. Initially, Ju Jia merely meditated and cultivated here, which didn't seem unusual; Yi Yi simply thought he was bored indoors and sought a change of scenery.

However, three days ago, things began to feel a bit strange.

Ju Jia, who typically remained as motionless as a statue during meditation, for some reason began to writhe as if he couldn't get comfortable. He tried many different poses before finally settling into this peculiar one.

Amber mimicked his every move.

At that moment, both the man and the beast alternately raised their heads to inhale and lowered them to exhale, their movements remarkably synchronized. As they continued to breathe in and out, the faint glow on their bodies flickered erratically.