Chapter 39: Battlefield Division

Half an hour later, Lu Ye got up and headed in the direction of Qingyun Market. Behind him, Yiyi floated in mid-air, enthusiastically seeing him off.

For Yiyi and Dahu, Lu Ye was an unwelcome intruder in their territory. His killing of too many beasts in recent days had destabilized the area, which was also why they had previously sought trouble with him.

If Lu Ye had continued to stay, it wouldn't be long before the food supply in the area would be completely depleted. At that point, they would have to find another place to live. However, there were too many demonic beasts in this mountain range, and rashly entering another territory meant facing unknown dangers.

So, after realizing that sending Lu Ye away was a good thing, Yiyi cooperated willingly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so obedient.

Of course, Lu Ye had also warned them before leaving that if he couldn't find Qingyun Market successfully, or if they had provided any false information, he would return.

In response, Yiyi patted her flat chest and guaranteed that everything she had said earlier was absolutely true.

As he traveled, Lu Ye recalled all the information Yiyi had disclosed.

It wasn't just information about Qingyun Market. Lu Ye later asked her many questions about the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Since he had finally encountered someone here he could communicate with and control, he naturally wanted to make the most of the opportunity.

Yiyi, too, held nothing back and told him everything she knew.

Although the jade slip given to him by the Sect Master contained some information about the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the situation at the time was too urgent. Furthermore, the Sect Master didn't know where Lu Ye would appear after entering the battlefield, so the information provided was not detailed.

In contrast, the information obtained from Yiyi was more suitable for Lu Ye's current situation.

According to Yiyi, the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was a circular area, extremely vast, covering an area the size of a province. It could be divided into three major regions: the outermost ring, or the Outer Circle; the middle ring, or the Inner Circle; and the innermost ring, or the Core Circle.

The further inward one went, the denser the spiritual energy of heaven and earth became. Moreover, some special areas had miraculous yields, such as rare mineral veins and precious spiritual fruits. These were cultivation resources that cultivators would desperately vie for.

Major sects throughout the Nine Provinces all had their own garrisons in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The higher a sect's rank, the further inward its garrison was located.

For instance, first, second, and third-rank sects from various provinces had their garrisons in the Core Circle. Garrisons of fourth to sixth-rank sects were generally scattered throughout the Inner Circle. As for the garrisons of seventh to ninth-rank forces, they could only occupy the outermost circle. Naturally, this tier of sectarian forces was also the most numerous; hence, the Outer Circle was the largest area in terms of occupied territory.

The good news was that Lu Ye's current location was in the Outer Circle. As the spiritual energy density and resource output here were lower than in the other two areas, it was unlikely he would encounter exceptionally powerful Spirit Creek Realm cultivators.

The bad news, however, was that he didn't know the exact location of the Crimson Blood Sect's garrison. As a ninth-rank sect, the Crimson Blood Sect's garrison was naturally also in the Outer Circle. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be too far from their garrison. But if his luck was poor, and he and the Crimson Blood Sect's garrison were on opposite ends of the Spirit Creek Battlefield's central axis, then if he followed the war imprint, he would inevitably have to cross the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, venturing into the Inner and Core Circles.

With his first-level Spirit Creek cultivation, he could barely protect himself in the Outer Circle. But if he ventured into the Inner or Core Circles, he would certainly meet a bad end. Spirit Creek cultivators there would undoubtedly be numerous and powerful.

The best approach now was to take an arc-shaped route. By traveling along the Outer Circle, he could avoid encountering overly powerful enemies.

On the Nine Provinces Continent, the Hao Tian Alliance and the Myriad Demon Ridge were in constant conflict, and sects rose and fell in succession. It could be said that cultivators in the Nine Provinces grew up amidst war and slaughter. Essentially, disciples of all major sects, regardless of their faction, would be sent to the Spirit Creek Battlefield for refinement once they reached the Spirit Creek Realm.

However, the power gap between first-level and ninth-level Spirit Creek cultivators was immense. Even disciples from first-rank sects didn't have a significant advantage when their cultivation was low. Thus, the Core and Inner Circles were not suitable for cultivators with low cultivation to hone themselves.

This gave rise to a tradition.

All sects would send their low-cultivation disciples to the Outer Circle, allowing them to temper themselves there through a process of selection and refinement.

As for the method of sending them over, it was naturally by utilizing the Heavenly Machine Pillars.

Heavenly Machine Pillars had various functions; one of them was localized teleportation.

After paying a certain price, large and medium-sized sects in the Core and Inner Circles could use the Heavenly Machine Pillars to send their low-cultivation disciples to the garrisons of allied smaller sects, allowing them to gain experience in the Outer Circle.

In return, these large and medium-sized sects would protect the safety of these smaller sects when appropriate—for example, when their garrisons were under attack.

Therefore, the connections between sects across the Nine Provinces Continent were very close. Often, a single large sect would protect dozens or even more smaller sects, and a small sect would also maintain good relations with several large sects.

As he processed this information, Lu Ye gained a clear understanding of his current situation.

It had to be said that his luck was indeed good. The location where he appeared in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, sent by the Sect Master, was the Outer Circle. This was what gave him the capital to continue surviving.

As for Qingyun Market... there was actually more than one. The entire Qingyun Mountain was vast, and there were several markets at its foot, all named Qingyun Market.

Cultivators from all over the Nine Provinces gathered in the markets; they were a mixed bag, a blend of good and bad. There were not only those from the Hao Tian Alliance but also from the Myriad Demon Ridge.

The markets were unowned. They were spontaneous gathering places for cultivators, and also places for cultivators to trade and rest.

Therefore, generally speaking, the markets were relatively safe. This was because rashly attacking here could easily trigger a large-scale chaotic battle between the two factions of cultivators. There had been several such precedents: personal grievances between one or two individuals had sparked chaotic battles involving hundreds or thousands, resulting in countless casualties. Since then, anyone daring to strike in the market would be instantly surrounded and killed by nearby cultivators.

This was considered an unwritten rule, and cultivators entering the market would generally abide by it.

Of course, if one had the ability to silently eliminate others without being detected, then one could act with impunity.

However, cultivators in the Outer Circle generally had low cultivation. Who among them would possess such a skill?

This was undoubtedly good news for Lu Ye. Being at the first level of the Spirit Creek Realm, he was just qualified to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was no exaggeration to say he was among the lowest-cultivated individuals in the entire battlefield, and he wouldn't gain an advantage fighting anyone.

Following the clues provided by Yiyi, Lu Ye first crossed a small river, then passed through a chaotic stone forest, until he reached the foot of the mountain. An area covering several miles, with various buildings scattered like stars, appeared in his sight.

Qingyun Market had arrived!