Chapter 352: I'm Picked Up (Thanks to Leader pft0 for the Reward)

"If you've got the guts, kill me!" Senior Brother Wu gritted his teeth, glaring at Lu Ye. He certainly wasn't lacking in backbone. What more could he say when a cultivator of the Ninth Heavenly Layer lost to one of the Seventh, especially one so much younger?

Lu Ye withdrew his blade, spun, and delivered a side kick to Senior Brother Wu's temple. The violent force shattered a hastily formed spiritual energy barrier, sending Senior Brother Wu flying once more. This time, however, he didn't get back up, having fallen unconscious.

Although the exchange was brief, the intense burst of spiritual energy fluctuations attracted the attention of Danxin Sect cultivators. Several figures quickly rushed over from nearby.

Upon arriving, they saw their Senior Brother Wu lying unconscious nearby, his fate uncertain. Inside the grand formation, there were three unfamiliar individuals; one of them stood there, gripping a blade, spiritual energy surging around him.

"Enemy attack!" someone immediately shouted.

In an instant, the entire Danxin Sect outpost erupted. Figures streamed towards the scene from all directions.

As that person shouted, several individuals who had arrived first relentlessly surrounded and attacked Lu Ye. Regardless of who they were or how they had entered the sect's grand formation, with Senior Brother Wu beaten so badly, they were clearly enemies.

Streaks of light from activated artifacts struck first, the sound of them cutting through the air continuous.

Lu Ye's long blade darted repeatedly. His Mountain-Shattering Blade almost became a blur, precisely deflecting every incoming spiritual artifact. Enhanced by Wind Travel, his movements were as swift as thunder, weaving back and forth across the area.

Hissing sounds filled the air, blood splattered, and muffled groans could be heard.

Even in the core region, there weren't many cultivators at the Ninth Heavenly Layer. This was because once a cultivator reached the Ninth Heavenly Layer, significant further improvement became difficult. Those with a chance of making it onto the Spiritual Stream Ranking would try to do so. Those without hope of ranking would at most temper themselves for a period before advancing to the Cloud River Realm.

Senior Brother Wu, whom Lu Ye had knocked unconscious, was one such example.

This tempering period could last anywhere from ten days to half a month, or up to two or three months, depending on the cultivator's choice.

Furthermore, even if a cultivator made it onto the Spiritual Stream Ranking, they wouldn't remain in the Spiritual Stream Realm for long.

This created a unique phenomenon: the Spiritual Stream Ranking changed remarkably quickly, with new names appearing on the list almost every few months.

Except for the top three, who remained unshakable...

The first few cultivators from the Danxin Sect to charge in were all at the Seventh or Eighth Heavenly Layer. With Lu Ye's current strength, dealing with them didn't require much effort. The only problem was their sheer numbers.

Several of them were repelled, all bearing injuries, their expressions growing solemn.

No wonder, as Lu Ye's cultivation was undeniable when he made his move. They had never witnessed such a powerful Seventh Heavenly Layer cultivator.

Soon, however, more Danxin Sect disciples joined the encirclement.

Amber roared, revealing its true form. Compared to before, Amber was now even larger, its light golden demonic energy swirling around it, almost solid. Under its tiger's roar, the few cultivators charging forward became dizzy.

Yiyi also flashed out, casting spells in all directions. The speed and quantity of her spellcasting were astonishing.

Ju Jia silently positioned himself behind Lu Ye. A large mass of spiritual energy gathered in his hands, coalescing into a turtle shell-shaped barrier that he held high in front of him, blocking attacks coming from behind.

As more Danxin Sect cultivators gathered, Lu Ye could no longer launch proactive attacks. From his weapon box, nine spiritual artifacts flew out one after another, sweeping in all directions. The sheer number of artifacts controlled and the precision of the technique were breathtaking.

From a high vantage point, the three individuals and one tiger were completely surrounded by numerous Danxin Sect cultivators. The light from spells and activated artifacts constantly clashed in mid-air.

The Danxin Sect's assault surged like waves, each incoming wave met and repelled.

"Surrender now, or I'll kill her!" A furious roar suddenly came from mid-air.

Lu Ye and the others simultaneously looked up. They saw a Danxin Sect disciple, who had somehow captured Feng Yue, holding a long sword against her fair neck. The sharp blade cut her skin, and crimson blood began to trickle from her throat.

Feng Yue was visibly terrified.

After a brief silence, Lu Ye and the others withdrew their gazes, continuing to fend off attacks from all directions, occasionally launching counter-attacks.

The Danxin Sect cultivator holding Feng Yue was utterly bewildered.

Feng Yue was on the verge of tears: "Big brother, do I look like I'm with them? They just picked me up along the way, boohoohoo."

She was filled with regret. Why had she followed Lu Ye all the way to the core region? With her cultivation, she should have been in the inner region.

Not only did they enter the core region, but they actually came to cause trouble at the Danxin Sect outpost. Had her Fifth Senior Brother's head been kicked by a donkey?

Now look what happened. Surrounded by so many people, they would probably all die here.

While the battle raged fiercely, a handsome and distinguished figure suddenly appeared in the Heavenly Mystery Hall. It was Li Baxian, who had received a message from Shui Yuan.

He was naturally happy that his junior brother had come to visit him at the Danxin Sect outpost. As he was pondering how to entertain his junior brother, he suddenly sensed something amiss at the outpost. Erratic spiritual energy fluctuations were coming from a certain direction, along with sounds of intense combat.

Li Baxian's expression changed, and he quickly flashed out of the Heavenly Mystery Hall.

"Senior Brother," Feng Yuechan, waiting at the entrance of the Heavenly Mystery Hall, greeted him.

A faint sense of unease stirred in Li Baxian's heart. Without correcting Feng Yuechan's address, he frowned and asked, "Is someone attacking the outpost?"

It had been years since something like this happened. Ever since both he and Feng Yuechan made it onto the Spiritual Stream Ranking, the Danxin Sect outpost had been impregnable. Even first-rank sects dared not provoke them easily.

"No," Feng Yuechan said, grabbing Li Baxian's hand and flying into mid-air with an artifact.

Li Baxian strained his vision, and his expression immediately changed: "Junior Brother!"

It wasn't that someone was attacking the outpost; rather, his own junior brother was being besieged by Danxin Sect cultivators, and the situation was perilous.

As he spoke, Li Baxian was about to flash over, but Feng Yuechan pulled him back.

"What is it?"

"Senior Brother, have you considered why Junior Brother Lu would come to the Danxin Sect and cause such a commotion? He is, after all, from the Jadeblood Sect; it doesn't make sense for him to create such a huge disturbance here."

Li Baxian said, "Saving them is more important right now."

Although he was also puzzled as to why his junior brother was fighting with the Danxin Sect cultivators, this was clearly not the time to investigate the reasons. Stopping the conflict was the proper course of action.

"Junior Brother Lu and the others are not in mortal danger. Didn't Senior Brother notice that our disciples aren't trying to kill them?"

Hearing her words, Li Baxian finally realized. In his haste, he hadn't looked closely. Surrounded by so many cultivators, if the Danxin Sect cultivators had truly intended to kill them, Lu Ye and his companions wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Although the Danxin Sect cultivators' assault was fierce, their aim was to capture Lu Ye and the others alive, which was why they had managed to hold on.

"You gave the order?" Li Baxian realized.

Feng Yuechan nodded.

"What are you doing?" Li Baxian was somewhat confused.

Feng Yuechan said, "Senior Brother is so intelligent, surely you understand Junior Brother Lu's true intentions? He specifically came to find you this time, likely to tell you something. It just so happened that some of our sect's cultivators made things difficult for him, and then it naturally evolved into this situation."

Li Baxian's eyes flickered with understanding. "What did you tell him?"

"I haven't contacted Junior Brother Lu," Feng Yuechan said, squeezing Li Baxian's hand. "Senior Brother doesn't need to show yourself; I'll handle it."

Although she had secretly ordered Danxin Sect disciples not to harm the newcomers, there was always a possibility of accidents. She hadn't stopped it immediately because she wanted Li Baxian to arrive and witness this scene for himself.

With that, she flashed out, instantly reaching the battlefield.

"Stop!" Feng Yuechan commanded softly, hovering in the air.

It must be said that Feng Yuechan, as the top-ranked cultivator on the Spiritual Stream Ranking, held significant prestige within the Danxin Sect. After her voice fell, the Danxin Sect disciples who had been attacking Lu Ye and the others immediately retreated. Many bore injuries, and some had bruised and swollen faces, having been punched by Lu Ye or Ju Jia when they charged forward.

The Danxin Sect disciples were not in good shape, and Lu Ye was equally disheveled. He was covered in an unknown number of injuries, his clothes stained crimson with blood.

He looked terrible, but fortunately, none of his injuries were severe.

As for Ju Jia, he was completely unharmed.

"So many of you besieged just a few, and this is the result? Danxin Sect cultivators, you've truly lived up to the sect's years of teaching," Feng Yuechan remarked blandly, causing all the Danxin Sect cultivators involved to burn with shame and indignation.

While it was true that she had ordered them not to kill, preventing the Danxin Sect disciples from fighting without restraint, the numerical disparity was undeniable. Moreover, Lu Ye and the others weren't particularly high in cultivation. The outcome was such that the Danxin Sect cultivators felt they had lost face.

"Our sect has been too comfortable for too long. With Senior Brother Li and I stationed here, you've probably forgotten how to fight. What if Senior Brother Li and I were no longer here one day? If external enemies invaded, would you simply wait for death?"

The group of Danxin Sect cultivators flushed, hanging their heads in silence after being reprimanded.

"Outsiders say that with Senior Brother Li and I guarding the Danxin Sect outpost, it's impregnable. But they don't see the current state of the Danxin Sect. Each of you thinks there's someone above supporting you, leading to slackness in your cultivation. With your current state, even if you gained more apertures and advanced to the Cloud River Realm, you'd just be slaughtered on the Cloud River battlefield."

Feng Yuechan then turned to the side. "And you! If you can't defeat others in a fight, you bully the weak and take hostages? Is this what the Danxin Sect taught you? While you can naturally use any means necessary against cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge, who are they? They are from the Haotian Alliance!"

The cultivator holding Feng Yue recoiled, his neck shrinking. "Senior Sister, I wasn't..."

"Don't make excuses. If you truly have skill, go deal with those you should be dealing with. Taking a helpless woman hostage, and a medical cultivator at that? What kind of man does that make you?"

The words were quite harsh. The cultivator's face flushed crimson, and he released Feng Yue.

Feng Yue quickly jumped to the side, looking at Feng Yuechan with tearful gratitude. The core region... it was too dangerous. She wanted to return to the Jadeblood Sect outpost.