Chapter 413: Surround and Kill

Before this fight, Zhu Pang made a crucial mistake: he concentrated all his power on defense. If he had fought normally, his situation might not have been so dire. However, completely abandoning offensive methods in favor of defense provided him little security. This was largely due to Lu Ye's fearsome reputation; even with his greatly enhanced power from the mechanical puppet, Zhu Pang lacked the confidence to defeat Lu Ye. He had indeed sealed himself off tightly with defenses, but once these impenetrable defenses showed a flaw, he had no room to retaliate.

As Amber’s massive tiger paw struck down, Lu Ye also launched an attack from the side. The sharp blade gleam, imbued with killing intent, sent shivers down Zhu Pang's spine. He focused all his attention on Lu Ye and Amber’s direction, fully channeling his power to defend against the attacks from the man and the tiger. Just then, however, a surge of violent spiritual energy erupted beside him.

A massive impact swept over him, striking precisely through the gap in Zhu Pang's defenses. In that instant, Zhu Pang felt as if he was being torn apart. If his physical body, trained as a body cultivator, hadn't been incredibly strong, that single attack would have been enough to kill him. Even so, the sharp attack ripped through his vital energy and spiritual power defenses, leaving behind a gaping wound where his flesh was torn, revealing even glimpses of his internal organs. He sharply turned his head, looking toward the source of the attack, his pupils constricting. Reflected in his vision was the figure of a young girl, her body radiating boiling spiritual energy as she condensed a powerful spell! The attack that had just hit him came from this very girl!

How could this be...? What was happening? Zhu Pang was dumbfounded. Challenges on the Spirit Stream Ranking have always been one-on-one. Lu Yiye bringing a beast companion was acceptable, as it was permitted by the Heavenly Mechanism. After all, there's a school of beast taming in this world, where cultivators fight by controlling demonic beasts; if they weren't allowed to bring their beast companions, cultivators of that school would have very little combat strength. But what about this girl? She couldn't possibly be a beast companion, could she? It made no sense at all. The first thought that popped into Zhu Pang's mind was that Lu Yiye must have used some incredible method to bypass the Heavenly Mechanism's monitoring and brought a spell cultivator to gang up on him! But he quickly dismissed this idea as impossible. The Heavenly Mechanism was supreme, always fair and just, especially regarding Spirit Stream Ranking challenges, which had never had any issues since ancient times. There was no reason for such a major oversight to occur now.

Soon, however, he no longer had to ponder these perplexing questions. Under Yiyi's relentless barrage of spells, Zhu Pang's sturdy figure swayed precariously like a lone canoe adrift on a stormy sea. Furthermore, Lu Ye and Amber continued their fierce assault from the sides. With another shield artifact shattering, an immense crisis engulfed him, and the scent of death assailed him. Amber roared furiously, its soul-shaking impact causing Zhu Pang's face to contort in pain, blood streaming from his nostrils. A faint thought repeatedly urged him to surrender, but he couldn't concentrate, and the words wouldn't leave his mouth. More spells landed on his imposing body, and a sharp long saber pierced through the gap in his defenses, thrusting upwards, impaling his jaw and emerging directly from the top of his skull!

The chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations abruptly subsided in that instant. Yiyi dissipated the spell she had condensed, and Amber retreated to the side, crouching slightly, poised to strike at any moment.

Drip... Drip...

Blood dripped onto the ground. Zhu Pang lowered his gaze, looking at the young man standing so close. His eyes were filled with a yearning for life and an unwillingness to accept his predicament. Lu Ye pulled out his saber, and blood gushed forth. The sturdy figure collapsed to his knees with a thud, then slowly fell prostrate, the ground beneath his body quickly stained red with blood. His life force dissipated.

Yiyi quickly stepped forward to collect the spoils, putting the opponent's damaged mechanical puppet into a storage bag. She then tossed the storage bag to Lu Ye before flashing back into Amber's body. At this time, Lu Ye had already retrieved many bandages and healing medicines from his own storage bag. He then took out another bundle, wrapped it, and tied it onto Amber's back. Accepting Zhu Pang's challenge was just the beginning. If his predictions were correct, he would likely have to fight his way out through a bloodbath! With the primal magnetic field roaring and spiritual energy suppressed, storage bags couldn't be opened, so it was essential to prepare these healing supplies beforehand. Furthermore, Lu Ye had specifically selected several long sabers from his previous spoils of war that resembled his own Mountain Splitting Saber, keeping them as spares.

With everything prepared, Lu Ye popped a few healing pills into his mouth, then mounted Amber's back, signaling the Heavenly Mechanism to transport him out of the arena. Upon his return, he found himself back on the vast, endless plain. As soon as his vision recovered, a strong gust of wind struck from the side, violently colliding with Amber. Even with Amber's strength, the impact made him stumble slightly. An enraged tiger roar erupted, and Amber's paw struck in the direction of the attack. Along with a piercing beastly cry, the sharp claws ripped away a layer of flesh. Simultaneously, a fierce attack assailed Lu Ye. Almost instinctively, Lu Ye swung his saber in a backhand strike. With a clang, the spiritual artifact aimed at Lu Ye was sent flying, and a cultivator's cry of alarm rang out. Only then did Lu Ye clearly see who had attacked him and Amber: it was a cultivator from the Myriad Demons Ridge riding a rhinoceros beast. The beast itself had charged into Amber, while the cultivator on its back had attacked Lu Ye. However, both the beast and the cultivator on its back suffered heavy losses. As they passed each other, the cultivator even fell directly from the rhinoceros's back.

Lu Ye raised his long saber, about to end the cultivator's life, when several more massive figures charged toward them from various directions, each a cultivator riding a different demonic beast. Although he had swiftly slain Zhu Pang in the arena, quick-moving cultivators from the Myriad Demons Ridge had still managed to reach his original location and launched their attacks the moment he reappeared. Fortunately, there weren't many of them. Without Lu Ye needing to command, Amber leaped high into the air from its spot, jumping directly out of the encirclement of the demonic beasts. While still in mid-air, Lu Ye leaned down and unleashed a saber strike. The strike precisely hit a cultivator's long spear, which was aimed at Amber's waist. With a crisp clang, Amber landed ten zhang away and galloped off. The cultivators behind them quickly turned their mounts and eagerly gave chase.

For a moment, across the plain, a snow-white figure sped forward, with pursuers hot on its heels, shouting loudly.

"Lu Yiye is here!""Kill Lu Yiye quickly!""Don't let him escape!"

From an aerial view, more cultivators riding demonic beasts converged towards them. Although their numbers weren't vast, there were still over thirty of them. Lu Ye was only grateful that he had killed Zhu Pang quickly enough. If he had emerged from the arena even ten-plus breaths later, he might have been completely surrounded by the Myriad Demons Ridge forces.

Whooshing sounds filled the air as attacks descended from above. This sudden onslaught caught both Lu Ye and Amber somewhat off guard. Even though Lu Ye reacted swiftly, blocking some attacks with his long saber, several still landed on him and Amber. However, a comical scene unfolded: although the attacks struck him and Amber, the damage inflicted was almost negligible. Lu Ye looked up and saw over a dozen flying beasts in the sky, with several Myriad Demons Ridge cultivators standing on their backs. At this moment, they were all holding longbows and continuously firing arrows downwards! But how much power could arrows possess without spiritual energy enhancement? Both Lu Ye and Amber could withstand them with just their physical bodies. At most, the arrows inflicted minor scrapes on Lu Ye, and as for Amber, they left no marks at all.

"How can Lu Yiye's physique be so powerful?" Seeing that the arrows striking Lu Ye had no effect on him, the Myriad Demons Ridge cultivators were greatly astonished. They had assumed that with their flying mounts, they would surely be able to kill Lu Ye, but now it seemed that idea was far too naive. Lu Ye's physique was excessively strong. Strictly speaking, the changes to his physique began gradually after tempering in the Dragon Spring. While the Dragon Spring's tempering itself wasn't exceedingly powerful, Lu Ye had brought out a scale from it. This scale contained abundant vital essence, which had the effect of strengthening the body. Whenever he had the chance, Lu Ye would use that scale to temper his body and enhance his vital energy. By now, the vital essence within the scale had been completely consumed. Furthermore, whenever he returned to the main sect of the Azure Blood Sect, the medicinal meals prepared by Shui Yuan always had the ability to strengthen the body. It's worth noting that the crimson trout in Moon Lake were originally used to temper the bodies of Azure Blood Sect disciples, with each formal disciple only receiving one. Lu Ye had consumed quite a few during his time at the main sect. Additionally, ever since he began practicing the Gluttonous Meal, his appetite had become much larger than that of an ordinary person. The abundant food he consumed was converted into his own vital energy, and his physique naturally strengthened little by little without him realizing it. However, he had never cultivated his body in the manner of a true body cultivator, so his build wasn't particularly muscular. And there was also the baptism he received from the Heavenly Mechanism's reward last time... With all these accumulated enhancements, Lu Ye's physique naturally had a significant gap compared to someone with innate talent like Ju Jia, but it was in no way inferior to that of an average body cultivator; in fact, it was even stronger.

As for Amber... it goes without saying. Amber had absorbed the most vital essence from that scale; if the scale's vital essence were divided into ten parts, Amber claimed five, Lu Ye took about three or four, and Ju Jia consumed one or two! Moreover, Amber was already a demonic beast, and it had also learned the method of cultivating by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon from Ju Jia. In terms of physical strength, Amber could rival two or three Lu Yes. When channeling its demonic essence, even if a cultivator struck it with a spiritual artifact, they might not be able to harm it. The benefits of their thick skin and strong bodies became evident. An ordinary cultivator, when targeted by such a barrage of arrows, would certainly be injured, and once too many injuries accumulated, death would be imminent. However, neither Lu Ye nor Amber were affected by the arrows. Initially, Lu Ye had used his long saber to block some of the aerial attacks, but after realizing these attacks were barely more than a tickle, he began to ignore them.