Chapter 397: All Because of This Guy's Fault

Cultivators at the Spirit Creek Realm can only fly using spiritual artifacts; they can only achieve flight on their own upon reaching the Cloud River Realm. These are different concepts: one involves controlling a flying spiritual artifact to carry oneself, while the other is direct physical flight.

Although Lu Ye is currently using the Winged Spirit Pattern, he can barely be considered to have experienced the benefits of self-flight in advance. Of course, this doesn't mean cultivators no longer need flying spiritual artifacts after reaching the Cloud River Realm. They are still necessary because, comparatively, flying with an artifact consumes less energy. Furthermore, some flying artifacts can be equipped with consumables like spirit stones, which can replace the cultivator's own spiritual power. Large flying spiritual artifacts, in particular, are usually activated by the power of spirit stones and formations, making them difficult to control solely with a cultivator's internal spiritual power.

Upon acquiring the Winged Spirit Pattern, Lu Ye was in high spirits. Given the intense combat of the past few days, he decided to rest for a day. The Spirit Creek Battlefield was uncharacteristically calm for a day. There were no significant changes on the Spirit Creek Ranking, and little commotion in the battlefield. At one point, such a vast battlefield could remain undisturbed by the silence of a single person. The cultivators of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sadly realized that as long as 'Sect Exterminator Lu Ye' didn't cause trouble, the entire battlefield remained peaceful.

However, this calm was broken after just one day. A day later, Lu Ye began his ascent on the rankings. On the Spirit Creek Ranking, his position climbed several spots every few breaths. Without exception, all cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge whom he challenged refused. Though it was embarrassing, it was better than losing their lives! Given how many cultivators from the Nine Heavens were killed by him, the lower-ranked cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge on the Spirit Creek Ranking had no confidence in surviving an encounter with Lu Ye.

During his previous climb, Lu Ye specifically targeted cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, sparing none who ranked above him. This time, however, it was different. Between ranks 50 and 80, nearly all were from the Haotian Alliance, with only a few cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge appearing after rank 80. To climb higher on the Spirit Creek Ranking, Lu Ye had no choice but to challenge some Haotian Alliance cultivators. This was unavoidable, but fortunately, the Haotian Alliance cultivators were understanding.

In just half an hour, Lu Ye had already climbed back into the top 50 of the Spirit Creek Ranking. This speed of ascent was unprecedented. At this point, there were many potential targets for challenge ahead. As before, Lu Ye specifically sought out and challenged cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction, one by one. It must be said that despite Lu Ye's astonishing previous record, the top 50 experts all possessed a sense of arrogance. Thus, when Lu Ye first challenged them, no one refused; they all readily accepted. They had every reason to be arrogant! In such a vast battlefield, with millions of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators, their ability to rank in the top 50 naturally meant their strength was considerable.

Lu Ye didn't deal with these cultivators the same way he dealt with Bai Lan. Firstly, he wasn't in urgent need of Core Fire for the time being. Secondly, he had accumulated a significant amount of merit points and could buy Core Fire if truly needed. Thirdly, doing so would be too time-consuming. Ten days had passed since he began his ascent on the Spirit Creek Ranking. He needed to reach his limit as quickly as possible, so that he could gain more benefits when the Heavenly Secret bestowed its rewards. If he continued to deal with these people in the same manner he dealt with Bai Lan, it would be a net loss, even if he successfully extorted benefits, not to mention the uncertainty of success. Any one person, if they played their cards right, could take up several days of his time. Therefore, he now had only one goal: to climb the rankings!

Since he initiated every challenge, others chose the terrain. However, even if they chose terrain that suited them, they could not escape death. After Lu Ye had challenged three matches and killed all three opponents, even the top 50 experts realized something was amiss. Previously, they believed that the cultivators ranked beyond 50 were simply too weak, unable to even utter a surrender cry when fighting Lu Ye. Now, however, it seemed it wasn't their lack of strength, but rather that Lu Ye possessed some special method that prevented challenged opponents from conceding.

The premise of accepting Lu Ye's challenge was that one could survive even if defeated. If the outcome was certain death, they would need to weigh their options carefully. No one was so stubborn as to actively seek death. Unfortunately, they couldn't figure out what method Lu Ye was using. Of all the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge who had encountered Lu Ye in the arena, there had been only one precedent of survival so far! That was Bai Lan of the Moist Rain Sect.

Previously, people had sought out Bai Lan for information about Lu Ye. Now, even more inquiries came her way, but Bai Lan couldn't offer any clear explanation. Her battle with Lu Ye had been entirely one-sided, a suppressed state, and even the defense of her high-grade spiritual artifact was nearly breached. Considering the circumstances of that battle, Bai Lan had every opportunity to concede. Therefore, Lu Ye must have withheld some method from her. This left the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge speculating, secretly wondering if Lu Ye was perhaps a man who cherished beauty. Otherwise, why would he treat Bai Lan so uniquely? Yet, there were other beautiful women on the Spirit Creek Ranking, and he had killed all of them except Bai Lan. So, how did Bai Lan survive? Compared to the other female cultivators he had killed, Bai Lan's only distinguishing feature was her magnificent bosom, a proud asset. For a moment, it seemed many understood the truth...

It is worth noting that after Lu Ye began his ascent, Bai Lan also started climbing the rankings. However, comparatively, their speeds of ascent were completely different. After all, Lu Ye rose from rank 100 to 50 without a single battle, as all challengers directly refused him, allowing him to advance smoothly. Bai Lan, on the other hand, lacked such deterrent power. Engaging in battle after battle, her speed naturally couldn't be fast. However, she already had a foundation at rank 48. If she went all out, her final ranking shouldn't be too low.

In the wooden cabin, Lu Ye connected his mind to the Spirit Creek Ranking and continued challenging one after another. After he successively killed three top 50 experts, the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge in the subsequent challenges unanimously chose to refuse. This allowed his ranking to surge to 36th place. The next target for challenge was Zhuo Jianchen, ranked 34th. The name sounded familiar. Lu Ye checked his sect, and it was indeed the Moist Rain Sect. He suddenly remembered: wasn't this the fellow who had declared a few days ago that he was waiting for him? It seemed he was Bai Lan's senior brother. He issued the challenge, and sure enough, the other party accepted. Lu Ye waited patiently.

Inside the Moist Rain Sect, Bai Lan looked at Zhuo Jianchen, who had a suppressed expression, and asked, "Senior Brother, has Lu Ye challenged you?"

"Yes," he replied.

"You…"

"I accepted!"

"Senior Brother, wouldn't it be better to refuse?"

Zhuo Jianchen suddenly turned his head. "Why should I refuse? What are you afraid of?"

Bai Lan was a little bewildered. "What?" She didn't know why, but her Senior Brother seemed strange today; the usually gentle and refined Senior Brother now gave her an extremely gloomy feeling.

"Junior Sister, let me ask you, why did Lu Ye spare only you?" Zhuo Jianchen suppressed the frustration in his heart and asked in a low voice.

"He didn't spare me…" she thought, "He extorted twenty portions of Core Fire from me, which was worth four thousand merit points!"

Zhuo Jianchen said, "All cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge who accepted his challenge died, except for you. Was he just after twenty portions of Core Fire from you?"

Bai Lan now also sensed something was wrong, and looked at Zhuo Jianchen in surprise: "Senior Brother, what are you trying to say?"

"I don't want to say anything. I just heard some things."

With rumors flying around everywhere, how could Zhuo Jianchen not be bothered? Initially, he hadn't thought much of it, but recalling the sight of his Junior Sister returning after her battle with Lu Ye, he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. A few days ago, when his Junior Sister returned from the arena, her face was extremely pale, and she looked as if she had suffered immense humiliation. In the encampment, many of their junior disciples seemed to look at him strangely.

Bai Lan's face suddenly turned pale. She had naturally heard the rumors outside, but how could those rumors be taken seriously?

"Senior Brother, do you believe…"

"I don't know whether to believe it!" Zhuo Jianchen interrupted Bai Lan. "So, I will ask him face to face to clarify."

"You can't go, Senior Brother, so many people have died." Bai Lan grew panicked and worried.

However, the more anxious and worried she appeared, the deeper the thorn in Zhuo Jianchen's heart burrowed, and the more he wanted to confront Lu Ye and get to the bottom of it. If he didn't get this matter clarified, he would never have peace of mind.

"Enough! I need to prepare for this battle." Zhuo Jianchen turned his back to Bai Lan, and with a flick of his sleeve, the door closed.

Bai Lan stood dumbfounded, her eyes vacant. She truly couldn't understand how things had escalated to this point. Lu Ye… It was all that guy's fault! Bai Lan gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear him to shreds, but a shiver ran down her spine whenever his face appeared in her mind. She desperately pounded on the door, shouting, "Senior Brother, please listen to me!" However, there was no response.

After selecting the terrain for the combat arena, the scenery before Zhuo Jianchen began to change. In a medium-sized combat arena, Lu Ye and Zhuo Jianchen appeared simultaneously. As usual, Lu Ye immediately burrowed underground to search for his opponent's traces. Amber crouched motionless on Lu Ye's shoulder, like a mere decoration.

Before Lu Ye could even assess his surroundings, he heard a sharp shout from ahead: "Lu Ye, get out here!" He looked up to see a sword light hovering in mid-air ahead. A figure stood atop the sword light, exuding an ethereal sense of floating on the wind. Moreover, multiple sword lights floated around this person; each light was a flying sword. From his appearance, he was undoubtedly a sword cultivator!

However, for some reason, the man appeared furious. Lu Ye suspected it had something to do with his Junior Sister being extorted for twenty portions of Core Fire. So many people had previously refused his challenges, yet this person alone accepted. It seemed he not only had sufficient confidence in his own strength but was also a stubborn individual. Lu Ye liked such people!