Chapter 425: Single-Handedly Destroying a Sect

The Xuanqing Palace cultivators had already formed a battle array capable of confronting overlord-level demonic beasts. In their eyes, the strength Lu Ye displayed at this moment was no less than that of those legendary overlord-level demonic beasts. Separated by twenty zhang, the atmosphere was tense, with murderous intent subtly surging.

Lu Ye, who had been standing still, suddenly turned and slashed out with his blade. As the blade's light flashed, a stealthy Ghost Cultivator, who had silently approached Lu Ye, preparing to launch a surprise attack, was cut directly in half. In the Ghost Cultivator's dying eyes, there was an expression of disbelief; he couldn't comprehend how his presence had been detected. The power of that single slash made even more hidden Ghost Cultivators hesitant to act rashly. It seemed Lu Yiye of the Crimson Blood Sect possessed an excessively strong perception, making it incredibly difficult for Ghost Cultivators to ambush him. That decisive slash seemed to be a signal. As the Ghost Cultivator met his sudden demise, a single word, "Kill!", was roared from the Xuanqing Palace cultivators' formation.

The next instant, an overwhelming barrage of spells and streams of light from controlled artifacts surged towards Lu Ye, dense as a torrential downpour. Bolstered by the Windwalk Spirit Pattern, Lu Ye swiftly advanced while dodging one attack after another. In the sight of the Xuanqing Palace cultivators, Lu Ye's figure was as agile as a fish in water. Ninety percent of the spells and artifacts they launched missed their mark, and the occasional hits were blocked by the spirit patterns Lu Yiye activated. The twenty-zhang distance was covered in just three breaths.

A Body Cultivator directly facing Lu Ye held a large spirit shield upright in front of him. His vital energy and spiritual power surged together as he assumed an unyielding stance, like an indestructible diamond. Lu Ye's right arm, holding the blade, suddenly swelled, with concentrated vital energy gathering there. He aimed at the opponent's spirit shield and brought his blade down. With a flash! Under everyone's shocked gaze, the Nine-Forbidden Great Shield shattered directly, scattering into fragments. It failed to provide even the slightest protection. Not only that, but the Mountain Crag Blade continued its momentum, cutting down the Body Cultivator behind the shield.

The Xuanqing Palace's tight formation developed a small gap as the Body Cultivator fell. Like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, Lu Ye charged through this gap into the crowd. Controlled artifacts flew around him, and the Mountain Crag Blade in his hand ceaselessly slashed down. When he was at the Heaven Eight cultivation level, he once stormed into a Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction's outpost, only to be beaten back, scrambling to escape in disarray. But now, his cultivation had advanced to Heaven Nine, and he had undergone three baptisms of Heavenly Mechanism blessings. His strength was significantly greater than before. The current Lu Ye possessed the capability to wipe out an entire sect alone. If he didn't have such confidence, why would he have charged into the Xuanqing Palace outpost?

Facing so many enemies alone, the best approach was to charge into their formation. While this made it easy to be surrounded, it also allowed for better control of the situation, limiting the number of enemies who could attack him simultaneously. Simply put, it made the enemies hesitate and constrain their movements. Conversely, maintaining distance would make it harder to be surrounded, but if he kept his distance, everyone could attack him with controlled artifacts or spells, making the situation even worse. Charging into the enemy formation meant enemies were everywhere, but at any given time, only seven or eight people at most could attack Lu Ye, and they were all engaged in close-quarters combat. Lu Ye didn't have to worry about being harassed by controlled artifacts or spells. With every kill, new wounds appeared on his body. Fortunately, Lu Ye's physique was strong enough; those injuries, though they looked severe, were merely superficial. His vital points were constantly protected by the Guardian Spirit Pattern. The scene became chaotic.

Amber, perched on Lu Ye's shoulder, occasionally let out a tiger's roar. Each time the roar echoed, a group of people was sure to suffer misfortune. Amidst this chaotic situation, a tiny figure silently emerged from behind the Xuanqing Palace cultivators—it was Yiyi. When Lu Ye had burst into the Xuanqing Palace outpost and killed the first few cultivators he encountered, Yiyi had slipped out of Amber's body and hidden underground. When she reappeared at this moment, not a single Xuanqing Palace cultivator noticed her. In her hand, she held a scroll-like treasure: the Nine Worlds Map, bestowed by Madam Yun.

Silently, she approached several bewildered Xuanqing Palace cultivators from behind. While Lu Ye's rampaging slaughter captivated everyone's attention, she unfurled the Nine Worlds Map over them. In an instant, several cultivators vanished without a trace, only to reappear as vivid ink-brush figures within the Nine Worlds Map. These figures wore expressions of utter astonishment, clearly unaware of what had just happened. The Nine Worlds Map was a spirit treasure, always wielded by Yiyi. Although her current strength allowed her to unleash only a fraction of its power, it was sufficient to deal with Spirit Stream Realm cultivators. After capturing those few, Yiyi immediately burrowed underground, descending dozens of zhang. Given Yiyi's current strength, even with the Nine Worlds Map, it would be challenging for her to kill these individuals by herself, and she couldn't trap others for too long. It wasn't because the Nine Worlds Map wasn't powerful enough; it was because her own strength was insufficient. If she were strong enough, the life and death of any enemy absorbed into the Nine Worlds Map would be within her control. With a single thought, she could make them die inexplicably. Since she couldn't trap enemies for too long and couldn't kill them easily, she had no choice but to release them. So, after burrowing dozens of zhang underground, Yiyi activated the Nine Worlds Map's power and directly released the few individuals she had captured... Those cultivators died instantly without even a sound. At a depth of dozens of zhang, how could Spirit Stream Realm cultivators withstand the immense pressure of the surrounding earth? Only a non-physical, non-substantial spirit like Yiyi could move freely underground. She rushed out again, repeating the process!

The Xuanqing Palace cultivators were struck with terror! Initially, Lu Ye's solo intrusion into their outpost to kill had made them feel disrespected and offended, fueling their boundless rage. But only now did they realize that he truly possessed such capabilities. In just under a quarter of an hour, over thirty more of the eighty-plus cultivators had died. Even the Body Cultivators wielding spirit shields couldn't withstand his furious blade, being cut in half along with their shields. What puzzled them even more was that many others had vanished without a trace. No one knew where they had gone, but they were simply gone. Of the eighty-plus cultivators, fewer than thirty remained. Blood flowed like rivers in front of the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, and corpses piled up like mountains. The flowers of slaughter bloomed amidst the blood and bodies. The killer was bathed in blood, appearing like a mad demon. From beginning to end, he hadn't uttered a single word, only carrying out the act of slaughter, as if determined to wipe out the entire Xuanqing Palace.

With so many dead, the surviving Xuanqing Palace cultivators were utterly terrified. "Retreat to Kyushu!" Finally, someone couldn't bear it any longer and shouted. Many followed. The surviving Xuanqing Palace cultivators fought and retreated, heading towards the Heavenly Mechanism Hall. Upon reaching the Heavenly Mechanism Pillar, they vanished one by one. However, several more died by the blade during this process. Lu Ye only stopped when no Xuanqing Palace cultivator remained in sight.

Yiyi emerged from underground, looked around, and exclaimed in surprise, "Where are they?" Relying on the Nine Worlds Map and her unique spirit body, she had been continuously transporting enemies. Who knew that suddenly all the enemies were gone, with only a large number of corpses remaining on the battlefield? "They fled." Lu Ye flicked the blood off his Mountain Crag Blade and returned it to its sheath. "What a pity." She had thought they could wipe out all the Xuanqing Palace cultivators this time, but some had still escaped, though likely not many.

Fifty li from the Xuanqing Palace outpost, numerous streaks of light rapidly approached. At the forefront was Situ Han, the Garrison Commander of the Three Saints Academy, followed by elite cultivators from the Three Saints Academy. The Three Saints Academy outpost was adjacent to the Xuanqing Palace outpost. The Spirit Stream Realm cultivators of the Three Saints Academy in this generation were not particularly strong, and their overall power was in decline. As a result, they were often bullied by Xuanqing Palace and two other Ten Thousand Demon Ridge factions. This was also why the Three Saints Academy had initially wanted Lu Ye to be affiliated with their outpost for cultivation. They had hoped to use the opportunity to draw in Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, thereby alleviating the awkward situation of their outpost. However, both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had advanced to the Cloud River Realm. The matter of Lu Ye's affiliation for cultivation had thus fallen through. And when the Three Saints Academy outpost was breached last time, several nearby Ten Thousand Demon Ridge factions had contributed significantly, especially Xuanqing Palace. As old neighbors, their grievances against each other were practically endless. Although the Three Saints Academy outpost had been rebuilt, due to a lack of merit points, the spiritual energy within the outpost and the area it radiated were far inferior to before. Therefore, upon receiving Lu Ye's message, Situ Han gathered nearly half of their personnel and aggressively advanced towards the Xuanqing Palace outpost, preparing to cooperate with Lu Ye and avenge the past grievances. Following Situ Han, the group of cultivators were all eager for battle, radiating murderous intent. "Junior Sister Feng," Situ Han suddenly spoke. "Here," Feng Yue, standing behind him, quickly responded. Feng Yue had now reached the Ninth Layer cultivation level, and with the Three Saints Academy's assistance, she had gathered enough merit points to purchase a Heaven-tier cultivation method. It seemed she would soon advance to Heaven Seven. "Where is Brother Yiye now?" Situ Han asked. "I'll ask," Feng Yue said, quickly sending a message to Lu Ye to inquire about his situation. A moment later, her expression turned strange: "Fifth Senior Brother said he is currently inside the Xuanqing Palace outpost." Upon hearing this, Situ Han's expression subtly changed: "Brother Yiye is quite impatient. Has he already charged in?" After a brief deliberation, he activated his spiritual power and shouted, "Fellow junior brothers and sisters, Fellow Daoist Yiye has already charged into the Xuanqing Palace outpost and might be surrounded on all sides. Everyone, speed up and go assist him!" "Yes!" the cultivators responded loudly. The next moment, everyone's speed increased noticeably.

A stick of incense later, dozens of people, led by Situ Han, arrived outside the Xuanqing Palace outpost. However, what they saw was the Xuanqing Palace's defensive array already active, and from a certain direction, extending all the way into the outpost, there were corpses and blood everywhere. This... was it over? Situ Han was a little bewildered.