Chapter 426: The Tremor in Nine Provinces

Following the traces of battle, Situ Han, leading dozens of people, hurried to the square in front of the Heavenly Secret Hall. From afar, they saw a blood-soaked figure sitting on the steps, a sheathed long saber resting casually beside him. In front of him lay one or two hundred storage bags.

Judging by his focused demeanor, it seemed he was... unlocking the restrictions on the storage bags.

And that figure, appearing as if cast in blood, was none other than Lu Ye!

"Fifth Senior Brother!" Feng Yue quickly stepped forward.

Lu Ye looked up, nodded slightly, then looked at Situ Han, who stood behind Feng Yue with a complex expression. "You've arrived?"

Situ Han snapped back to reality, quickly bowed, and asked, "Brother Yi Ye, have we arrived too late?"

"Not late at all, you're just in time. The fight just finished."

*Situ Han thought:* "Isn't this just arriving late...?" He had originally intended to bring dozens of people to assist Lu Ye, but upon arriving, he found that the battle was already over, ending in Xuanqing Palace's complete defeat. He had just casually counted, and there were at least sixty or seventy corpses scattered around the stronghold. Then it suddenly occurred to him that Lu Ye hadn't seemed to want his help from the start, which was why he said they weren't late!

"Brother Yi Ye, did you kill all of these by yourself?"

"Of course not."

Situ Han felt a sense of relief, thinking to himself that this was to be expected. If one person had killed them all, it would be too terrifying. He hadn't seen any other helpers, though; perhaps they were hidden or had left.

"Amber helped me too," Lu Ye said, raising his hand to pat Amber's head, who was lying beside him.

*Situ Han's mind reeled.* "So, he *did* kill them all by himself?"

Lu Ye's words made Situ Han's mood fluctuate, and he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

Standing behind him, a group of Three Saints Academy disciples also collectively swallowed hard.

The tragic state of Xuanqing Palace's stronghold was right before their eyes, with bodies and blood strewn across the Heavenly Secret Hall square. This was apparently the work of a single person! They had long heard that Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect possessed extraordinary strength and exceptional methods, but it wasn't until witnessing it firsthand that they realized the rumors were true.

Taking a deep breath, Situ Han said with a complex expression, "Then, Brother Yi Ye, you sent for me because you wanted to..." He was a little confused. Since Lu Ye had the ability to annihilate an entire sect, why did he ask Feng Yue to call him over? He had thought Lu Ye wanted him to bring some people to help, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Last time, because of my involvement, the Three Saints Academy stronghold was breached. I've inquired, and this Xuanqing Palace played a significant role in that. As the saying goes, 'an eye for an eye.' They breached your Three Saints Academy stronghold, so I came to breach their Xuanqing Palace stronghold. Furthermore, wasn't there an agreement between my sect's Sect Master and your sect that I would cultivate at the Three Saints Academy stronghold? Now that I've reached Heavenly Nine cultivation, I'll be leaving the Spirit Stream Battlefield soon, so that agreement can't be fulfilled. Before I leave, consider this a way to alleviate some pressure for the Three Saints Academy."

Situ Han was speechless. This was more than just alleviating pressure; looking at the outcome of this battle, with so many Xuanqing Palace members dead, they would never again be able to lord over the Three Saints Academy.

"Everything here at Xuanqing Palace remains untouched, Brother Situ, feel free to take what you wish."

At his words, the group from Three Saints Academy grew excited, all understanding the implication of Lu Ye's statement. Situ Han, however, couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "How can we accept this? We didn't do anything..."

"In the inner circle, the Heavenly Derivation Sect's stronghold was breached because of me. What they lost, I helped them retrieve. Since the Three Saints Academy stronghold was also breached because of me, it should be treated equally. Brother Situ, please do not refuse. In the future, many disciples from my Crimson Blood Sect might come to your stronghold for training and cultivation, and at that time, we will need your sect's care and guidance."

Hearing Lu Ye say this, Situ Han no longer refused: "Then I won't be modest. In the future, if any of your sect's disciples wish to come to our stronghold for cultivation, just say the word. The gates of our stronghold will always be open to your disciples!"

At Situ Han's command, the group he brought immediately scattered like tigers descending a mountain, heading to various parts of the Xuanqing Palace stronghold. They looted everything they could carry, filling their storage bags, and destroying whatever couldn't be taken. Situ Han himself went directly into the Heavenly Secret Hall, stood before the Heavenly Secret Pillar, and, using his status as a Guardian Emissary, plundered all of Xuanqing Palace's various blessings.

Lu Ye, meanwhile, continued to unlock the restrictions on the storage bags, while Feng Yue stayed behind to treat his injuries. It must be said that after cultivating at the Three Saints Academy stronghold for some time, Feng Yue's cultivation and medical skills had significantly improved. Lu Ye chatted casually with her, learning that the Three Saints Academy treated her very well and hadn't blamed her for the previous incident. After all, she was a medical cultivator, and a delicate woman at that. No one would casually offend such a person. Moreover, the previous breach of the Three Saints Academy stronghold had nothing to do with her; it was an operation by the Myriad Demon Ridge against Lu Ye.

While they were busy with this frenetic activity, the news of Lu Ye single-handedly annihilating Xuanqing Palace had already spread rapidly.

Not all of Xuanqing Palace's members died; about thirty managed to escape through the Heavenly Secret Pillar. However, through this battle, over seventy percent of the core circle cultivators of Xuanqing Palace were slain, leaving the sect severely weakened.

Everyone who heard this news initially reacted with disbelief, thinking it was impossible!

Even if Lu Ye was incredibly strong, even if he had advanced to Heavenly Nine... And indeed, he *had* advanced to Heavenly Nine; his cultivation ranking on the Spirit Stream Leaderboard had already changed after the Xuanqing Palace battle. But even as a Heavenly Nine cultivator, it was impossible for one person to annihilate an entire sect! Throughout history, this had never occurred. Not even Feng Yuechan or Li Baxian possessed such ability, and they had both been immersed in the Spirit Stream Realm for over a decade. How could Lu Ye possibly do it?

People constantly sent messages to Xuanqing Palace to inquire and confirm the truth of the matter.

Finally, it was confirmed... the news was actually true.

The vast Xuanqing Palace stronghold had indeed been challenged and defeated by Lu Ye alone. Information revealed that Lu Ye, relying on his mastery of array arts, had breached the stronghold and embarked on a killing spree. Even with eighty-odd Xuanqing Palace cultivators arrayed against him, they couldn't stop him; instead, he single-handedly caused rivers of blood. His vicious character and brutal methods were simply unheard of. He killed core circle cultivators as if they were mere chicks.

The Nine Provinces were shaken.

Within the Spirit Stream Battlefield, the Myriad Demon Ridge forces in the core circle suddenly felt their lives were at risk.

All the Myriad Demon Ridge powerhouses who confirmed this news couldn't help but lose their composure.

Before this, the Myriad Demon Ridge had already anticipated that if Lu Ye advanced to Heavenly Nine, the entire Spirit Stream Battlefield might be dominated by him alone. But even so, no one could have imagined that he would immediately accomplish such an earth-shattering feat after his promotion.

Was this vast Spirit Stream Battlefield truly about to enter an era ruled by a single person?

Who among the Myriad Demon Ridge forces could accept this? Could no one truly deal with such a murderous individual?

Half a day later, another shocking piece of news spread.

The Crescent Moon Pavilion stronghold, not far from Xuanqing Palace, was breached!

It was still Lu Ye, still single-handedly!

Xuanqing Palace was a third-rank force, with no Spirit Stream Leaderboard powerhouses in its stronghold and a limited number of Heavenly Nine cultivators. If the breach of Xuanqing Palace's stronghold was due to their insufficient foundation, then the breach of the Crescent Moon Pavilion stronghold was entirely due to Lu Ye's overwhelming power. This was because the Crescent Moon Pavilion was a first-rank force! It had more Heavenly Nine cultivators than Xuanqing Palace, and even a powerhouse ranked in the top fifty on the Spirit Stream Leaderboard. Even so, after paying an extremely heavy price, the surviving Crescent Moon Pavilion cultivators were forced to retreat back to the Nine Provinces, their vast stronghold falling into the hands of one person.

Overall, the Crescent Moon Pavilion's losses weren't too severe. Because they had the Xuanqing Palace as a cautionary tale, they had already set up their formations from the start, and their retreat was orderly. Still, thirty to forty people died. Those were thirty-four promising talents who could have advanced to the Cloud River Realm at any time, yet they were killed just like that, causing the Crescent Moon Pavilion's high-ranking officials to feel their hearts bleed.

When the Xuanqing Palace stronghold was breached, many Myriad Demon Ridge forces still held onto hope, thinking that Xuanqing Palace was simply too weak. But with the news of the Crescent Moon Pavilion's stronghold being breached, even those Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who harbored illusions had to take Lu Ye seriously.

If even a first-rank sect's stronghold couldn't withstand this fellow's slaughter, then who else in the entire Spirit Stream Battlefield could stop him?

The next day, a third Myriad Demon Ridge stronghold was breached, located near Xuanqing Palace and Crescent Moon Pavilion.

The Myriad Demon Ridge forces were both enraged and deeply alarmed.

They recalled that when Lu Ye had caused trouble in the inner circle, he still needed to rally a Grand Heavens Alliance army to act. But now, in the core circle, there was no need to rally any army. Wherever he went, he brought the disaster of sectarian annihilation. "Sect-Exterminator Ye" was a well-deserved title! Indeed, there are only mistaken names, but never mistaken nicknames.

At that time, to contain Lu Ye, the Myriad Demon Ridge had also gathered many people. While confronting the Grand Heavens Alliance, they had their Divine Sea Realm grand cultivators negotiate, eventually paying considerable resources to settle the matter.

But now that Lu Ye was acting alone, the Myriad Demon Ridge found it genuinely difficult to cope. While they could certainly gather more people, Lu Ye, with his Heavenly Nine cultivation, possessed unparalleled speed in controlling his artifacts. Who could possibly catch him? If they couldn't catch him, what was the point of gathering more people?

For a time, many Myriad Demon Ridge powerhouses suffered severe headaches, horrifyingly discovering that they had no means to counter Lu Ye. Their only option seemed to be to abandon all their strongholds, form a grand army, and then eradicate all the Grand Heavens Alliance strongholds as well. Such an action would be a case of 'if I can't have a good outcome, neither can you.' But doing so would have no effect on Lu Ye himself, as the Crimson Blood Sect's stronghold was located on the outermost periphery of the battlefield. The turmoil in the core circle wouldn't affect the Crimson Blood Sect at all.

As time passed, one sect stronghold after another in the core circle of the battlefield was breached. Even first-rank sect strongholds were as fragile as paper in front of Lu Ye. In the first few days, some sects remained stubborn, thinking that the outside world exaggerated Lu Ye's strength, and attempted to resist his attacks with numerical superiority. However, after suffering losses, they all abandoned their strongholds and retreated to their main sects in the Nine Provinces.