Chapter 376: Giant Armor's Capital

It's quite simple to verify if a cultivator is a healer: one merely needs to observe their healing methods, and it becomes immediately apparent.

That day, Cultivator Tianba intentionally injured Hua Ci, and this was precisely their objective.

Hua Ci raised her hand, and a soft, warm, jade-green light emanated from her palm. The light enveloped the wound. Within three breaths, the gaping wound stopped bleeding. After another dozen breaths, Hua Ci withdrew her hand.

The others looked towards the wound, their eyebrows rising in surprise.

To their surprise, the wound was already showing signs of healing!

When Hua Ci first revealed her spiritual energy's unique qualities, the others had already largely determined she wasn't lying, as only a healer's spiritual energy would be so gentle and warm. However, upon witnessing her actual techniques, they realized they had somewhat underestimated her.

Such a rapid healing speed was beyond the capabilities of an ordinary healer. This undeniably demonstrated that the healer before them possessed exceptionally refined medical skills.

"Which sect are you from?" Cultivator Tianba asked.

"A rogue cultivator," Hua Ci replied. She certainly wasn't foolish enough to reveal she belonged to the Crimson Blood Sect.

Cultivator Tianba remained noncommittal.

Among rogue cultivators, various schools of thought existed, but healers were the fewest in number. It was rare for a healer to remain unaffiliated, because any healer, regardless of their cultivation level or medical proficiency, was a prime target for recruitment by major sects.

No sect would ever complain about having too many healers.

Especially a ninth-level cultivator like Hua Ci, whose cultivation was considerable even within the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it seemed improbable she was merely an unaffiliated healer.

However, the cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had no intention of digging deeper. They had successfully captured Hua Ci alive, and while they wouldn't kill her, her freedom would require her sect to pay a hefty price for her redemption.

Her origins would naturally be revealed then.

This was considered an unwritten rule of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, dating back to ancient times.

"Hand over your storage bag!" Cultivator Tianba extended his hand.

Hua Ci offered no resistance. She unfastened the storage bag from her waist and tossed it to him. Her bag contained little of value—mostly just spiritual pills and stones for cultivation, along with a few spiritual artifacts.

Moments later, the group resumed their journey. Finding Hua Ci's artifact-controlled flight too slow, the cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge opted for Cultivator Tianba to carry her instead.

Her freedom was not restricted, and she suffered no mistreatment, as none of them believed a ninth-level healer could pose any threat.

"Where are you going?" Hua Ci asked.

"'The Ten Thousand Poisons Forest!' Cultivator Tianba, who was piloting his artifact, answered casually."

Hua Ci nodded slightly and said no more. The cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge likely never imagined that this very answer, which pleased Hua Ci, was what ultimately spared them from disaster.

Traveling with Cultivator Tianba was significantly faster than Hua Ci's own artifact-controlled flight.

Deep within the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, Lu Ye's dormant consciousness began to stir, slowly awakening.

His body felt drained, a state that wouldn't recover without several days of rest. Yet, his bloodied robes had been removed, and all his wounds were bandaged, likely Yi Yi's handiwork.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"'About two days,' Yi Yi replied, retrieving a waterskin from her storage pouch and offering it to Lu Ye."

Lu Ye took it, drank deeply, and then looked around.

The formation they had set up earlier was still active, successfully isolating the area within its bounds from the corrosive poisonous mist. Outside the formation, however, a vibrant jade-green hue permeated the air, signaling the pervasive poisonous miasma of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

A constant sizzling sound emanated from the formation's light barrier, clearly indicating the poison's corrosive effects. However, as long as they had enough spiritual stones, there was no concern about the barrier breaking.

A faint green glow flickered across Yi Yi's body, an obvious sign of poisoning.

Ju Jia's condition was far more severe. His entire body was sickly green, and his eyes were deeply sunken, giving him the appearance of someone nearing death. Had his physique not been exceptionally robust, he would have succumbed to the poison long ago.

Only Amber remained clear, radiating a bright spiritual glow.

"The things I gave you didn't work?" Lu Ye frowned.

"'We used them, but Senior Brother Ju Jia seems to have accumulated too much poison. Those items could only temporarily suppress it, not fully expel the toxins from his body.'"

Before Lu Ye's arrival, Ju Jia had continuously used his spiritual energy to shield Amber, protecting her from the potent local toxins. Yi Yi, in turn, had remained hidden inside Amber, naturally avoiding poisoning.

However, to stabilize Ju Jia and Lu Ye earlier, Yi Yi had emerged from within Amber. Even as a spirit body, she was still affected by the potent toxins.

Spirit bodies couldn't consume royal jelly for detoxification, but fortunately, her symptoms weren't severe.

While Lu Ye was unconscious, Yi Yi followed his instructions and gave Ju Jia royal jelly. Initially, the effects were significant, but the suppressed toxins soon flared up again. After several such occurrences, the royal jelly had largely lost its efficacy.

Lu Ye turned to look at Ju Jia.

"How do you feel?"

Ju Jia forced a simple, toothy grin that looked worse than a grimace.

Lu Ye immediately knew his condition was dire.

This was problematic.

The toxicity within Ju Jia's body was so severe that even royal jelly proved ineffective. To detoxify him, the only solution seemed to be returning him to the main Crimson Blood Sect and seeking the aid of the Second Senior Sister.

But currently, they were trapped in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, and Lu Ye's own strength was severely diminished. How could they possibly break through the layers of blockade set by the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and escape?

Though he was unaware of the external situation, he was certain that Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had completely surrounded the area. In his current state, leaving was utterly impossible.

Perhaps he could utilize the power of his Talent Tree to incinerate the toxins?

However, the Talent Tree was rooted within Lu Ye's Origin Spirit Aperture. When he activated its power, only numerous imperceptible rootlets would extend from his body, absorbing available energy. How could he possibly incinerate the potent toxins within Ju Jia?

Lu Ye attempted it briefly, only to realize the method was entirely unfeasible.

All he could do now was channel his spiritual energy into Ju Jia's body, using the properties of his fire-attributed spiritual energy to burn away the toxins. But this approach was not only inefficient but also posed a significant risk of harming Ju Jia.

"'Lu Ye, is there no other way?' Yi Yi asked, gazing at Ju Jia with concern. For the past few days, she had watched him steadily weaken, feeling increasingly anxious and helpless."

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then looked up at Ju Jia. "Can you advance to the Cloud River realm?"

Ju Jia was currently at the Heavenly Seven realm, but Lu Ye knew this wasn't his limit. If Ju Jia desired, he could open more spiritual apertures, for he possessed a demon core capable of storing vast amounts of spiritual energy!

The reason he maintained his Heavenly Seven cultivation was to match Lu Ye's realm. He had always suppressed his own cultivation to remain at the same level as Lu Ye.

This might have been due to Ju Jia's inherent character, or a habit developed from his time following Sima Yang: he would never allow his cultivation to surpass that of the person he served.

Lu Ye had long been aware of this.

Lu Ye didn't know the exact amount of spiritual energy stored within Ju Jia's demon core, but if he could advance to the Cloud River realm, this predicament could be resolved.

The Spirit Creek Battlefield could only sustain cultivators of the Spirit Creek Realm. If Ju Jia were to advance here, he would be expelled from the battlefield and sent back to the main sect in Kyushu. There, the Second Senior Sister would naturally intervene to save him.

Throughout history, many cultivators chose to advance to the Cloud River realm within their own garrisons on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, where spiritual energy was abundant and the environment safe. Thus, the phenomenon of cultivators being expelled after advancing to the Cloud River realm was widely known. Lu Ye had certainly heard of it, though he had never witnessed it himself.

"'I don't know,' Ju Jia rumbled in reply."

"Try it!"

Regardless of whether Ju Jia could advance to the Cloud River realm here, there was no harm in having a higher cultivation. Perhaps a stronger cultivation would also improve his overall condition.

At these words, Ju Jia nodded and closed his eyes.

As his spiritual energy surged, soft popping sounds echoed, signaling the breaking of spiritual aperture barriers.

Even though Lu Ye had witnessed Ju Jia's terrifying speed in opening apertures once before, he couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch in astonishment.

For any cultivator, breaking through spiritual aperture barriers typically required some time. Yet, for Ju Jia, opening apertures was practically unobstructed; wherever his spiritual energy flowed, barriers shattered one after another.

Lu Ye surmised this was due to the exceptionally abundant spiritual energy within Ju Jia's body.

A riverbank could hold back a flowing river, but it was utterly powerless against the force of a flood.

In just a brief moment, sixty distinct sounds echoed.

A short while later, as Ju Jia connected these sixty newly opened apertures with spiritual energy, establishing a new lesser circulation, he successfully advanced to the Heavenly Eight realm.

The sounds of spiritual aperture barriers shattering resonated once more, and Lu Ye and Yi Yi continued to count.

Another sixty sounds emerged. Lu Ye realized he had consistently underestimated the spiritual energy stored within Ju Jia's demon core.

Ju Jia had long possessed the capability to advance to the Cloud River realm.

Previously, the greatest obstacle to his advancement was the lack of merit points to acquire Heavenly-tier cultivation techniques. However, ever since Lu Ye helped him accumulate enough merit points for them, his path forward had become completely unobstructed.

All three hundred and sixty spiritual apertures in his body were now open. However, because Ju Jia hadn't yet formed the final sixty apertures into a lesser circulation, his displayed cultivation remained at Heavenly Eight.

With all his spiritual apertures open, Ju Jia could advance to the Cloud River realm and depart from here at any moment.

"'Go back and tell Second Senior Sister and the Sect Master not to worry about me,' Lu Ye instructed him. As he spoke, he distributed a portion of his recently acquired spoils of war, placing them into a storage bag and tying it to Ju Jia's waist."

Perhaps due to his advancement in cultivation, Ju Jia's complexion had improved somewhat from before.

Ju Jia looked at him, then abruptly turned, leaning against a large tree with his arms crossed, presenting his back to Lu Ye.

"'What does that mean?' Lu Ye was utterly bewildered."

"'He doesn't want to leave. He's worried about you,' Yi Yi explained from nearby."

Lu Ye chuckled softly, then rose and walked to Ju Jia's side, squatting beside him. "'You don't want me to be left to die here, do you?' he said earnestly. 'Go back to the main sect and find Second Senior Sister. Only she can save you now. I'm not trying to send you away; it's just that there truly is no other option. Don't worry about me; I'm immune to all poisons. This place is dangerous for others, but it's nothing to me.'"

"'I'll take you, and we'll fight our way out!' Ju Jia suddenly declared, a fierce determination on his face."