Chapter 335: The Fight Has Broken Out

A group of Divine Sea Realm cultivators from the Haotian Alliance immediately took out a detailed map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield to examine. They found that the Yunyan Sect and the Miluo Sect were hundreds of thousands of miles away from Weishui, leaving them speechless. They realized the young man from the Bloodfire Sect must have spent a significant amount of merit points to teleport via a Sky Machine Pillar; otherwise, it would be impossible to cover such a vast distance so quickly.

For most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators, this method of teleportation was highly impractical. Merit points were hard-earned, and each teleportation cost thousands. However, for Lu Ye, it was a different story. While he did spend a lot of merit points, he could easily earn them back by capturing enemy outposts.

First the Yunyan Sect, then the Miluo Sect — who would be next? It was abundantly clear that Lu Ye, like a blazing wildfire, was about to ignite the flames of war in every direction once more. Just as he had previously rallied a Haotian Alliance army, he could now form a second. This was the main reason for the Myriad Devil Ridge's significant concession. The elder understood that if Lu Ye's actions weren't quickly contained, his abilities and methods could truly plunge the entire inner circle into utter chaos.

"This boy is too unruly," the Sect Master declared. "I'll reprimand him right away." With that, he openly began sending a message to Lu Ye. At that very moment, Lu Ye, flying on a spiritual artifact with Ju Jia toward the next battlefield, checked his battlefield imprint. He saw the Sect Master's message, which was simple, containing only four words:

I've got this!

Lu Ye's heart was immediately at ease.

On Spirit Peak, the Haotian Alliance's Divine Sea Realm cultivators grew busy, sending out messages to gather intelligence on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The feedback they received mirrored the information provided by the Myriad Devil Ridge. Furthermore, news arrived that Lu Ye had departed shortly after conquering the Miluo Sect's outpost and was already en route to the outpost of a third Myriad Devil Ridge faction.

The elder leading the Myriad Devil Ridge side repeatedly attempted to resume negotiations with Pang Zhen, but Pang Zhen halted him with a raised hand. Pang Zhen maintained a serious, intensely busy demeanor, though he was secretly ecstatic.

The elder sighed, "Pang Zhen, delaying is pointless. Our Myriad Devil Ridge can stop that young man once, and we can stop him again. It simply means giving up a few more outposts."

Pang Zhen nodded continuously. "The Myriad Devil Ridge certainly possesses such resolve; we've witnessed it."

The elder, feeling exhausted, said, "Just state the Haotian Alliance's terms."

Pang Zhen immediately dropped his busy pretense, looking directly at the elder. "Besides the previous conditions," he stated calmly, "we also require half a prefecture's worth of outposts. As for which half, your Myriad Devil Ridge can discuss that among yourselves. There's no rush; you can take your time."

To be honest, the terms the Myriad Devil Ridge had initially agreed to already surpassed his expectations. Had no new information arrived, that would undoubtedly have been the best possible outcome for the peace talks. However, the situation was now different. Lu Ye had single-handedly opened up a second battlefield, rendering the standoff at Weishui largely irrelevant. If Pang Zhen failed to recognize the value this action represented, he would be unfit to serve as the Haotian Alliance's deputy leader.

As he stated, the Haotian Alliance was not in a hurry; it was the Myriad Devil Ridge that should be. The longer the delay, the greater the losses for the Myriad Devil Ridge, as each captured outpost meant a significant drain of merit points and resources. As for the elder's claim that they could stop Lu Ye a second time—let them try. If Lu Ye could open a second battlefield, he could open a third, a fourth... As long as he remained alive, the Myriad Devil Ridge would never know peace!

Pang Zhen's immediate focus was on how to leverage their current advantage to maximize the gains from the negotiations. The more aggressively Lu Ye acted in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the greater the pressure on the Myriad Devil Ridge.

"Pang Zhen, don't push your luck!" The elder's tone was no longer gentle. Anyone in such a situation would find it hard to remain calm. The Haotian Alliance was clearly taking advantage of the Myriad Devil Ridge, which neither could nor dared to concede too much.

"So you can take your time discussing and come up with a proposal that you find acceptable," Pang Zhen said with a smile.

The elder gave him a deep look, then said nothing more. He simultaneously sent out a message and communicated telepathically with the Divine Sea Realm cultivators nearby.

Not long after, another piece of news emerged from the Spirit Creek Battlefield: following the Yunyan Sect and the Miluo Sect, the outpost of a third Myriad Devil Ridge faction had been conquered. Under Lu Yiye's command, the forces of six sects had now converged, totaling over a thousand cultivators. Their morale was sky-high as they advanced toward the next Myriad Devil Ridge outpost. In this region, all Haotian Alliance forces who received the news were eager to act, with many leading their people to join the growing army.

Meanwhile, the Myriad Devil Ridge was also making urgent deployments. Just as before, in the direction of this allied army's advance, outposts belonging to Myriad Devil Ridge factions were proactively abandoned, and all their personnel were gathered at a single location.

Two days later, two armies, each comprising three to four thousand cultivators, stood in remote confrontation, separated by approximately three miles. Unlike the first allied army's encounter, there were no natural barriers separating these two large armies, making the situation far more precarious. A single misstep could genuinely ignite a large-scale war.

Only then did the powerful cultivators of the Myriad Devil Ridge finally breathe a slight sigh of relief. This time, the Myriad Devil Ridge's losses were not extensive, primarily because they had gained experience in handling such situations and had made timely deployments. Consequently, Lu Ye's second assembled army only managed to capture a dozen or so Myriad Devil Ridge outposts along its path. Even so, a glance at the battlefield revealed another "dragon bone" representing the Myriad Devil Ridge's grand overall strength had been severed.

On Spirit Peak of Wolong Mountain, the Myriad Devil Ridge elder stared grimly at Pang Zhen. "Can we talk now?" he asked. For the past two days, both sides had been in a standoff without any communication, waiting until the Myriad Devil Ridge successfully halted the second allied army's advance.

Pang Zhen feigned surprise. "The Myriad Devil Ridge has reached a decision? Do tell."

"The conditions remain unchanged," the elder replied.

"Then what is there to discuss? If you keep delaying, that young man might go off and open up a third battlefield!"

A group of Divine Sea Realm cultivators from the Myriad Devil Ridge couldn't help but flinch. This was their greatest fear and most painful dilemma. A peculiar situation had now emerged on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. All cultivators from the various Myriad Devil Ridge sects had been recalled to defend their outposts. Every sect was on high alert, trembling in fear whenever Haotian Alliance cultivators approached, dreading the sudden appearance of the "Sect-Destroying Lu Ye" within the enemy ranks.

"Under no circumstances will we cede half a prefecture!"

"I'm hungry," Pang Zhen declared, rubbing his stomach and looking at his allies. "Did anyone bring food?"

The elder turned to the Sect Master. "Brother Tang," he began, "Lu Yiye is a disciple of the Bloodfire Sect..."

Before he could finish, the Sect Master waved a hand. "My Bloodfire Sect is merely a ninth-rank sect," he said. "This matter is too significant for me to offer an opinion. My sect will follow the lead of the Haotian Alliance."

"Merely a ninth-rank...""Merely..."

How grating those words sounded. Yet, it was the truth. A monstrous talent had emerged from a ninth-rank sect, and he was now relentlessly hammering the Myriad Devil Ridge, which, paradoxically, had no effective means to deal with him. True Lake Realm cultivators had been deployed, resulting in two deaths. Even Heavenly Nine-level ghost cultivators were sent to assassinate him, only to be completely annihilated. If that young man were on Kyushu, these grand Divine Sea Realm cultivators could effortlessly crush him. But he was, inconveniently, in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Never before had these Divine Sea Realm cultivators so intensely loathed the Heavenly Mechanism's harmonizing and suppressive effects.

"They're fighting!" a Divine Sea Realm grand cultivator exclaimed, his voice trembling.

"What?"

Everyone present, from both the Haotian Alliance and the Myriad Devil Ridge, paled in shock. Pang Zhen's hunger vanished instantly as he scrambled to gather intelligence on the Spirit Creek Battlefield through their respective channels. They hadn't even reached a definite outcome in their discussions here, so how could fighting have erupted? Which side had started fighting? If it was Lu Ye's second allied army, it wouldn't be too critical, as their numbers weren't vast. However, if fighting had erupted at Weishui, the situation would become unmanageable.

Moments later, they received confirmed news. Fighting had indeed broken out. Fortunately, Weishui remained undisturbed; with natural barriers separating the forces, tens of thousands of cultivators dared not make a rash move. It was Lu Ye's second allied army that had engaged in battle. Six to seven thousand inner-circle cultivators clashed in a chaotic battle, resulting in... a crushing defeat for the Myriad Devil Ridge.

This outcome was largely due to the arrival of powerful reinforcements from the Bloodfire Sect. The Haotian Alliance's Divine Sea Realm cultivators exchanged bewildered glances. Never before had cultivators of their profound cultivation and mental fortitude experienced such emotional fluctuations due to a group of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. They couldn't help but lament how truly troublesome the current generation of young cultivators was. If everyone were like that young man from the Bloodfire Sect, these elders might well lose a century of their lives from the sheer excitement.

Conversely, the Myriad Devil Ridge's Divine Sea Realm cultivators all wore grim expressions, their gazes toward the Sect Master intensely unfriendly. The Sect Master glared back. "Why are you looking at me?" he retorted. "It wasn't my command. If I reprimand him again, it would be utterly undignified!"

At this very moment, in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, thousands of Haotian Alliance cultivators were in hot pursuit of the fleeing Myriad Devil Ridge forces, with the figure of a giant eagle being particularly conspicuous. The giant eagle was precisely Little Gray, from the Bloodfire Sect's outpost.

Initially, the Myriad Devil Ridge had repeated its old tactic, gathering thousands of cultivators to form a blockade. Lu Ye had already intended to leave this area and open a third battlefield elsewhere. However, before he could make a move, a message arrived via his battlefield imprint: Hua Ci had arrived!

As early as when Lu Ye rallied his first allied army to campaign across the land, Hua Ci had wanted to assist. After all, she was also a Bloodfire Sect disciple and a medical cultivator. Lu Ye frequently sustained injuries in battle, and she could readily provide healing. However, the journey was simply too long. Who would have thought that Lu Ye would leave Weishui and make his way to Silverlight Island? This location wasn't far from the Bloodfire Sect, so Hua Ci promptly set out with Little Gray. By the time she sent her message to Lu Ye, she was already nearing their position.

Upon learning that Hua Ci had brought Little Gray, Lu Ye precisely timed his command for the allied army to attack. Although this second allied army, numbering just over three thousand, had only been assembled a few days prior, it had been invincible under Lu Ye's leadership during that time. Thus, even when facing enemies of roughly equal numbers, the over three thousand Haotian Alliance cultivators charged forward without hesitation at Lu Ye's command.