Chapter 416: History Repeats

It is undeniable that ever since she received her own inheritance in Yingshan, Hua Ci has completely broken free from the limitations of a healing cultivator. As a healing cultivator, she can not only heal the wounded and save lives but also slay enemies and eradicate bandits, and her kills are always swift and unseen.

However, given the current situation, Lu Ye wasn't sure how she could help.

Outside the Myriad Poisons Forest, Lu Ye stood hundreds of feet away, confronting over two hundred cultivators from Myriad Demon Ridge. Lu Ye remained still, and Myriad Demon Ridge made no move. It wasn't that they didn't want to kill Lu Ye; rather, they didn't have enough personnel yet. If they charged now, Lu Ye would undoubtedly flee.

Continuing this delay was advantageous for Myriad Demon Ridge, as more cultivators would gather the longer the standoff lasted.

Naturally, they preferred Lu Ye to attack first, allowing them to conserve energy and take advantage of their position. With two hundred people, they were confident they could eliminate this menace who had caused sleepless nights for all Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators.

Flying monstrous beasts continuously flew back and forth in the sky, transporting Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators from afar, steadily increasing the force of over two hundred.

A Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator shouted, "Lu Yiye, you can't escape! Submit to your death!"

Lu Ye remained unmoved, silently chewing a healing pill.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he looked up at the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators. For some reason, the gathered enemies seemed to be stirring.

At the same time, where the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were assembled, some tilted their heads to listen, while others looked on with surprise and uncertainty.

This was because strange noises seemed to be emanating from the Myriad Poisons Forest behind them.

"What's that sound?" someone asked, turning to look back. But the Myriad Poisons Forest was filled with toxic mist and adverse conditions, so nothing could be seen without venturing deeper.

More people began to listen, and soon, a dense rustling sound reached their ears. It sounded like many things crawling across the ground, accompanied by faint vibrations of wings.

*Whoosh...*

Large swarms of colorful moths and butterflies burst out from the toxic mist, heading directly towards the gathered Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators.

All the cultivators gathered there changed their expressions.

The Myriad Poisons Forest was not only filled with dense toxic fog and mist but also teeming with venomous creatures.

The last time Lu Ye was trapped in the Myriad Poisons Forest, many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators had ventured deep inside to track him. In the end, they didn't find Lu Ye but were instead put in various embarrassing situations by the forest's poisonous creatures, with some even dying as a result.

These colorful moths and butterflies were common venomous creatures in the forest. Their venom wasn't particularly potent, but if their scales, shed as dust, accidentally touched the skin, it would cause an unbearable itch.

It was certainly a terrible experience.

So, upon seeing the overwhelming swarm of moths and butterflies, the cultivators panicked, scattering to avoid them. Some even swung their spiritual artifacts repeatedly to swat them away.

"Don't hit them! Get away!" someone screamed in panic.

Originally, there was no problem if they didn't attack these moths and butterflies. However, once they began to strike, the amount of dust shed by the moths and butterflies increased significantly.

Without spiritual energy to protect them, even the fastest cultivators found it difficult to guard against the tiny dust particles adhering to their bodies. In an instant, many felt an intense itch all over, unable to resist scratching!

Just as the area devolved into chaos due to the massive swarm of moths and butterflies, a cry of alarm suddenly rang out: "Spiders!"

A Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator, frantically scratching himself, angrily retorted, "This is outside the Myriad Poisons Forest! What's so strange about seeing spiders?"

He didn't finish his sentence, freezing as his expression slowly turned to horror.

Indeed, seeing spiders outside the Myriad Poisons Forest was not strange. But what if spiders were everywhere?

There were not only spiders but also scorpions, ants, poisonous frogs, venomous snakes, and all sorts of other venomous insects—both familiar and unfamiliar to the cultivators—all pouring out of the Myriad Poisons Forest.

The ground was covered in a dense, uncountable mass of venomous insects. Among them, several venomous pythons, dozens of feet long, flicked their tongues and spewed green mist from their mouths. One cultivator, accidentally inhaling a breath, instantly turned green in the face and collapsed rigidly to the ground, limbs stiff.

With venomous creatures everywhere, the cultivators cried out in alarm, dodging and fleeing, and the scene quickly devolved into utter chaos.

Some venomous creatures were stepped on and crushed, releasing emerald green mist that caused even more misfortune for others.

Lu Ye, riding Amber, had already charged to one side.

Although he didn't know exactly what methods Hua Ci had used, it was clear that the venomous creatures pouring out of the Myriad Poisons Forest were under her control.

He truly hadn't known Hua Ci possessed such amazing abilities.

The Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were in complete disarray. With no way to ensure their own safety, who had the spare mental energy to focus on Lu Ye?

Only the cultivators riding flying monstrous beasts noticed Lu Ye's movements. However, their numbers were few, making it impossible to stop him. They could only watch as Lu Ye steadily approached the Myriad Poisons Forest, until he plunged inside and disappeared from sight.

The Myriad Demon Ridge's pursuit of Lu Yiye had once again ended in failure. Last time, he escaped into the Myriad Poisons Forest, and this time, he escaped into it again. History seemed to be repeating itself.

The difference was that last time, he had used a strange method to directly enter the Myriad Poisons Forest, whereas this time, he was incredibly lucky. For some unknown reason, the venomous creatures in the Myriad Poisons Forest rioted, completely disrupting the formations of the well-prepared Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators.

However, was it really just luck?

Some couldn't help but suspect if the venomous creatures' rampage had anything to do with Lu Yiye, but no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't come up with a reason.

At that time, Lu Yiye was hundreds of feet away from the Myriad Poisons Forest. Aside from riding on the tiger's back, he hadn't done anything extra. Even if he truly possessed a method to control venomous creatures, he couldn't have cast it from thin air.

But to say there was no connection, it was simply too coincidental.

Also, how did Lu Yiye manage to stay in the Myriad Poisons Forest for dozens of days without being poisoned to death?

The last time he was trapped in the Myriad Poisons Forest, Myriad Demon Ridge had been filled with anticipation, waiting for the day he would succumb to the poison. This time, however, no one held such expectations.

Inside the Myriad Poisons Forest, Lu Ye rode Amber for a short distance before spotting a familiar figure standing there, waving at him.

Who else could it be but Hua Ci?

Amber moved forward, and Lu Ye pulled Hua Ci onto its back. Hua Ci's expression tightened. "Is it serious?"

Both Lu Ye and Amber appeared heavily wounded, especially Lu Ye, whose bare upper body was covered in injuries, and whose lower trousers were stained crimson with blood.

"They're just superficial wounds."

Hua Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

They continued onward, and half an hour later, the group returned to the wooden cabin.

Originally, the wooden cabin had been enveloped by a grand formation. Under its protection, as long as there was sufficient spiritual energy to support it, the external toxic mist could not infiltrate.

Lu Ye had also left a primary teleportation formation in the small courtyard.

But now, with the spiritual energy of the world suppressed, the grand formation had long ceased operating. Without it, the toxic mist had seeped in.

Lu Ye had his Talent Tree to protect him, making him immune to all poisons as long as the tree had sufficient fuel. However, Amber lacked this ability.

Hua Ci couldn't possibly stay by Amber's side constantly to detoxify it.

"Amber can't shapeshift, can it?" Hua Ci asked.

If Amber could shapeshift into a cat-sized form, Hua Ci could keep it by her side, eliminating any worries about it being poisoned.

"Wait." Lu Ye connected with the Spiritual Stream Ranking and checked the list.

He was currently at the top of the Spiritual Stream Ranking. The second-ranked was the female archer cultivator he had previously fought, and the third-ranked was a Haotian Alliance cultivator named Han Tiejun, from a first-grade sect in Dingzhou.

However, Lu Ye had no prior interaction with this person.

That didn't matter; he just needed to find someone who had interacted with him to pass on a message.

Indeed, spiritual energy couldn't be used in the Spiritual Stream Battlefield at the moment, so Amber couldn't shapeshift at will. However, it was different in the Combat Arena, which was unaffected by the Yuan Magnetic Roar.

He searched through his battlefield imprint and sent out over a dozen messages.

A moment later, his battlefield imprint pulsed, indicating that someone had challenged him on the Spiritual Stream Ranking.

Lu Ye accepted the challenge, chose the terrain, and his figure swiftly vanished.

In the Combat Arena, Lu Ye and the emerald-green Amber appeared simultaneously. Standing before them was a sharp-auraed young man.

Lu Ye cupped his hands. "Is that Fellow Daoist Han Tiejun?"

"That is I, Han."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist!" Lu Ye expressed his gratitude.

Being at the top of the Spiritual Stream Ranking had this drawback: he couldn't actively challenge others; he had to wait for others to challenge him. So, if he wanted to enter the Combat Arena, he needed someone's help.

"Fellow Daoist Yiye, you're too kind. I've heard about what happened. How is your current situation? Do you need any help?"

"I've hidden in the Myriad Poisons Forest again. Those from Myriad Demon Ridge can't do anything to me."

Han Tiejun looked impressed. "Fellow Daoist is truly formidable."

As the two spoke, Amber shook its body to the side. With its demonic energy surging, its bulky form rapidly shrunk to the size of a cat, lightly leaping onto Lu Ye's shoulder.

Han Tiejun soon departed. His challenge to Lu Ye wasn't genuinely to compete on the ranking but rather for Lu Ye to use it to enter the Combat Arena.

Before leaving, the two exchanged battlefield imprints. Lu Ye felt he might need to trouble Han Tiejun again in the future, and with each other's imprints, they could send direct messages, which was much better than relying on others to relay information.

A moment later, Lu Ye also exited the Combat Arena.

Hua Ci took Amber, first detoxifying it, before starting to treat Lu Ye's injuries. However, since spiritual energy couldn't be activated at the moment, many healing techniques were unusable.

Fortunately, Lu Ye's physique was strong. Although he had many wounds, they were mostly superficial. With healing medicine applied, he would naturally recover after a period of rest.

The commotion outside subsided once more.

Now that the Three Saints Temple outpost had been breached, Myriad Demon Ridge had no other means to force Lu Ye out of the Myriad Poisons Forest.

Lu Ye secretly vowed that he would not leave the Myriad Poisons Forest this time until he cultivated to the Heavenly Nine level!

With his current foundation, if he advanced to Heavenly Nine, he could truly roam the entire Spiritual Stream Battlefield unopposed. At that point, Myriad Demon Ridge would be unable to do anything to him.

Inside the wooden cabin, while recuperating from his injuries, Lu Ye repeatedly studied the insights on saber techniques that his Third Senior Brother had entrusted Xiao Changhe to deliver to him.

His gains were immense!