Chapter 34: Lack of Common Sense Lu Ye (Thanks to Clan Leader Xiong Xiaomao for the Reward)

Lu Ye's eyesight couldn't determine whether this strange girl was human or ghost, but based on her recent actions, it was highly unlikely she was human.

This person could appear behind him without a sound and launch a sneak attack. Her body seemed semi-solid, allowing her to phase through rock walls, which was clearly beyond an ordinary person's capabilities.

This was Lu Ye's first encounter with such an unusual entity, making him even more wary, especially since she was clearly allied with the large tiger.

Although he currently had the advantage of terrain, any lapse in caution could lead to irreversible disaster.

In his mind, now that he had the initiative, it would be best to immediately activate a Spirit Talisman to kill the tiger and be done with it. However, he was at a loss as to how to deal with the elusive girl, which posed a problem.

Lu Ye's question seemed to put the girl in a difficult position. After a long hesitation, she finally spoke, "My name is Yiyi..."

"I didn't ask your name," Lu Ye said, raising the Spirit Talisman in his hand, his threat clear. This action made the large tiger crouch low and growl softly.

The girl, Yiyi, quickly calmed the tiger. In their current situation, they were the fish on the chopping block, and to survive, they had to cooperate.

"Have you ever heard of a 'chang' assisting a tiger?" Yiyi asked in return.

Lu Ye nodded.

Yiyi explained, "Some tiger demon cultivators, as they grow, awaken a divine ability that allows them to transform the souls of recently deceased people into 'chang' ghosts."

"So... you're a chang ghost?" Lu Ye frowned. He had heard the idiom "aiding the tiger," but never imagined it would have such a peculiar explanation in this cultivation world.

"No," the girl Yiyi shook her head, her black hair swaying.

"Are you messing with me?"

"Seriously, no," Yiyi said, a little anxious. "Generally, chang ghosts are controlled by the tiger demon cultivator who transforms them, and they lack sentience or independent thought. But I'm different. Look at me, I'm just like a living person, except I don't have a physical body of flesh and blood."

"Then what exactly are you?"

"A chang spirit?" Yiyi tilted her head.

Lu Ye said nothing more, his gaze shifting between Yiyi and the large tiger. He narrowed his eyes slightly, "So if I kill this tiger, you'll also dissipate?"

"Yes... no!" Yiyi cried out, sensing Lu Ye's killing intent. "Don't kill us! We know we were wrong... we'll pay for our lives!"

The light flickering from Lu Ye's Spirit Talisman gradually dimmed. He had almost activated it. In a real fight, he was confident he could eliminate the large tiger. As for the girl named Yiyi, he had initially been wary, but now that he confirmed her symbiotic relationship with the tiger, there was no need to be overly concerned.

Her power level shouldn't be high; her previous sneak attack only involved minor tricks to disrupt his movements and couldn't actually harm him.

However, it would certainly require several Spirit Talismans, and he would inevitably sustain injuries during the fight.

If the cost was too great, the battle wouldn't be worthwhile. Especially since he was just a step away from reaching the first stage of the Spirit Stream Realm, depleting too much spiritual power would undoubtedly prolong the time it took to achieve that breakthrough.

Yiyi's last words made Lu Ye suppress his killing intent. He raised an eyebrow, "Pay for your lives? What do you have?" What good things could a demon beast living in the Spirit Stream battlefield and its symbiotic chang spirit possibly possess?

"Wait here! I'll go get them now!" Yiyi exclaimed, her body darting and disappearing into the adjacent rock wall.

However, she quickly poked her head back out from the rock wall. "You mustn't kill Amber! I'll be back very soon!"

Amber... Lu Ye glanced at the majestic, mountain-like tiger before him, his face twitching slightly.

Yiyi left, leaving Lu Ye in a distant standoff with Amber. He was also on guard against Yiyi; although the girl seemed sincere, one could never truly know another's heart. Who knew if she would hide in the shadows and launch a sneak attack?

His current cultivation was still low, and he didn't have good methods to detect the girl's whereabouts.

Yiyi did indeed return quickly. Lu Ye waited for only about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before the girl's figure reappeared. This time, however, she emerged from behind Lu Ye.

Lu Ye, with his back against the rock wall, allowed the girl to enter the cave. She was holding some items in her hands, which she raised, "We'll use these things to buy our lives! Please don't kill us!"

When Lu Ye clearly saw what the girl was holding, he was startled; they were several storage bags!

Storage bags belonged to cultivators, so their presence in the girl's hands was highly suspicious. Moreover, there wasn't just one; she was holding at least four or five.

As expected, this spirit and tiger pair were not good news; they had probably engaged in their share of robbery and murder.

"You've misunderstood!" The girl saw Lu Ye's expression and knew what he was thinking. "Amber's strength isn't high; you should have felt it when you fought it. The cultivators who appear in the Spirit Stream battlefield are at least at the first stage of the Spirit Stream Realm. Amber can't kill them."

"Then where did these storage bags come from?" Lu Ye, of course, wouldn't believe her easily.

Yiyi seemed a little hesitant. "We tricked them... Those cultivators were very timid; they just dropped their storage bags after a little scare."

Lu Ye recalled his earlier encounter. If he hadn't noticed something was off with the tiger, and if he had indeed possessed spiritual pills and spirit stones, he might have chosen to give up his possessions to avoid trouble.

Compared to material possessions, one's own life was naturally more important.

Of course, the tiger's soul-stirring aura was indeed terrifying. Low-level cultivators, once fixed by its amber eyes, would instantly lose a third of their courage. After a few more threats, they would have no will to fight.

Little did they know, the one speaking from behind, delivering the terrifying threats, was merely a petite girl.

"Throw them over," Lu Ye commanded.

Yiyi grunted and tossed the storage bags to Lu Ye. Lu Ye used his foot to pick one up, examined it briefly, and his face darkened.

This storage bag was locked...

The second one was the same.

So was the third...

After checking all the storage bags, Lu Ye looked up. "Are you messing with me?"

It wasn't that locked storage bags couldn't be opened, but Lu Ye didn't have the ability to do so.

Yiyi looked a little wronged. "Some people ran away too fast and dropped their storage bags without even unlocking the seals. Others did open them as we told them, but we've already used up anything useful inside..."

This was true. Yiyi and the large tiger had collected more than just these few storage bags over the years in the jungle, but the contents of most other bags had already been used, leaving only empty ones, which Yiyi hadn't bothered to bring.

Lu Ye's gaze lowered. "If this is all the sincerity you have, then there's no need to talk. These things aren't enough to buy your lives."

"How could this be..." Yiyi was on the verge of tears, regretting immensely having provoked Lu Ye. Her main reason was that she hadn't expected him to be different from the cultivators she had encountered before.

The cultivators operating in this area were not very high-level, mostly rogue cultivators or disciples from smaller sects, as this was considered the fringes of the Spirit Stream battlefield. When these cultivators encountered a demon beast that could speak human language, anyone with common sense would be utterly terrified.

This was because a demon beast capable of human speech was definitely not something they could afford to provoke.

Lu Ye, however, lacked this common knowledge. He had no idea what a demon beast speaking human language signified, and without such preconceived notions, he only trusted his own judgment.