Chapter 430: You Insult Me?

On Tianjian Peak, Lu Ye was bare-chested and covered in wounds. Yiyi was beside him, cleaning his injuries, applying herbal poultices, and carefully bandaging them.

The fierce battle with the demoness had been arduous but utterly exhilarating.

With his current strength, no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield could rival him.

Before his promotion to Sky-Nine, Lan Ziyi might have been able to challenge him. But after his promotion, even Lan Ziyi would have to step aside.

Lan Ziyi, ranked second on the Spirit Creek List, hadn't challenged him in the past two months, which served as the best proof.

Only sovereign-level entities were capable of fighting him.

The battle had no clear winner or loser; both could be considered victors and vanquished. Both he and the demoness sustained injuries of varying degrees, and by the end, both were near exhaustion.

After the fight, the demoness quickly departed. Though not particularly clever, she knew her current state was unsuitable for public appearance and had likely found a secluded spot to recuperate.

Lu Ye remained, waiting for the people from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge to deliver the items.

Under the cover of night, the rustle of footsteps on dry leaves broke the silence.

Amber immediately went on alert, and Yiyi cautiously surveyed their surroundings. Lu Ye remained seated, his hand grasping his Panshan Saber.

This was his most vulnerable moment. If Ten Thousand Demon Ridge truly intended to kill him, now would be the opportune time.

A figure appeared not far from Lu Ye. Judging by their attire, it was clearly a ghost cultivator. The cultivator stopped about ten *zhang* away, cupped their hands in a distant salute, then raised an arm and tossed a bulging storage bag towards Lu Ye.

Yiyi raised her hand to catch it. When she looked up again, the ghost cultivator had vanished. From beginning to end, the person hadn't uttered a word, nor revealed their origin.

Yiyi, thoughtfully, quickly opened the storage bag and found a jade tablet inside. Carved on the tablet were three large characters, clearly the name of a core Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sect.

She quietly informed Lu Ye, who nodded slightly in understanding.

After the first ghost cultivator appeared, more continued to emerge, tossing a storage bag from a distance towards Lu Ye, then disappearing without a word.

Such "paying for peace" was not a glorious act, so the ghost cultivators delivering the valuables remained silent. Messages were left in the storage bags, ensuring Lu Ye would know which sects had complied and which had not.

Moments later, storage bags rained down from all directions, so many that Yiyi struggled to collect them all.

Many ghost cultivators delivering goods didn't even show their faces, merely tossing the storage bags from afar. Once confirmed that Lu Ye's side had received them, their task was complete.

At this point, there were still three full days remaining until Lu Ye's ten-day deadline!

Originally, these ghost cultivators had intended to wait until the very last day to deliver the goods. However, after Lu Ye's fierce battle with the demoness, Ten Thousand Demon Ridge completely lost its resolve.

Lu Ye was now widely recognized as a cultivator who had ascended to the ranks of a sovereign, setting an unprecedented precedent. Which Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sect would dare to offend him?

Furthermore, there was the clear precedent of twenty-three sect strongholds that had already been breached.

Originally, some sects had planned to negotiate with Lu Ye, hoping to pay less, as it was not easy for even a first-grade sect to produce goods worth 300,000 contribution points all at once.

But now, they couldn't even voice such requests. Facing a sovereign-level entity, paying for peace was an acceptable outcome.

By dawn, there were four to five hundred storage bags laid out before Lu Ye.

Yiyi felt a bit dazed, staring at the storage bags and muttering, "Lu Ye, we're rich!"

"Rich indeed!" Lu Ye emphasized with a heavy nod.

He handed the detailed map to Yiyi, entrusting her with the task of inventorying the valuables. Comparing the items with the markings on the map to ensure Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sects had delivered sufficient quantities was a tedious job, best suited for Yiyi.

Lu Ye, after all, still needed to recover from his injuries.

"Oh, and keep the Wild Blade Sect's storage bag separate," Lu Ye instructed.

"Okay."

Three days quickly passed. Lu Ye's injuries had mostly healed, and the contents of the hundreds of storage bags had been inventoried by Yiyi, who meticulously categorized and sorted different types of valuables together.

Even with careful organization, the contents of hundreds of storage bags couldn't fit into a single one; there was simply too much.

In the end, there were still nearly thirty full storage bags. Lu Ye couldn't help but frown; carrying so many bags would be unsightly and hinder him in battle...

But there was no alternative; how many could truly understand the troubles of being wealthy?

However, according to Yiyi's comparison with the detailed map, all core Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sects, except for the twenty-three whose strongholds Lu Ye had previously breached, had delivered their contributions. Not a single one was missed.

"This one's from the Wild Blade Sect," Yiyi said, handing Lu Ye a separately placed storage bag. Lu Ye opened it to find a variety of items: spirit pills, spirit stones, spiritual artifacts, and herbs. Lu Ye couldn't immediately estimate its total value, but the Wild Blade Sect was a first-grade sect from Ding Province. Since they had chosen to "pay for peace," the valuables in the bag should be worth 300,000 contribution points.

"Do you think this is worth 300,000?" Lu Ye asked Yiyi.

"Perhaps?" Yiyi found it hard to say for sure, sensing a hint of ill intent from Lu Ye.

"If it's uncertain, then it's not enough!" Lu Ye declared suddenly, his voice filled with menace. "The Wild Blade Sect has truly dared too much. It seems they no longer want their stronghold."

Yiyi's eyelid twitched. "What are you going to do?" She wasn't sure why Lu Ye seemed to be targeting the Wild Blade Sect.

"To the Wild Blade Sect!" Lu Ye stood up, summoned his flying spiritual artifact, and shot into the sky.

Just half a day later, Lu Ye's figure landed before the Wild Blade Sect's stronghold.

Immediately, Wild Blade Sect cultivators noticed the disturbance and came to investigate. They instantly spotted a young figure outside, whose waist was encircled with storage bags.

The storage bags hung from his front all the way to his back, leaving the cultivator stunned.

They had never seen anyone carry so many storage bags. In his current state, Lu Ye might as well have "rich" carved on his forehead.

Upon seeing the young man's face, the cultivator's expression drastically changed. "Lu Yiye!"

Lu Ye acted as if the cultivator wasn't there, activating his Insight Spirit Mark to observe the nodes of the grand formation before him, then deploying several formation flags.

"Lu Yiye, what are you doing?" The cultivator, seeing Lu Ye's actions, couldn't help but shout furiously.

Rumor had it that Lu Yiye possessed unique skills in breaching formations. The sects whose strongholds he had attacked were first infiltrated by him using special methods to enter their protective formations, after which he unleashed a massacre.

Seeing Lu Ye's current actions, the cultivator became somewhat flustered.

As soon as the cultivator finished speaking, Lu Ye had already peeled back a corner of the grand formation and calmly walked inside.

The cultivator immediately stumbled back a few steps, grasping his spiritual artifact. Though alarmed, he loudly cried out, "Lu Yiye is attacking!"

Instantly, the entire Wild Blade Sect stronghold erupted into commotion. Figures swiftly flew from all directions, stopping several dozen *zhang* in front of Lu Ye, ready for battle.

As expected of a first-grade sect's stronghold, their reaction was incredibly swift. Within ten breaths of the alarm, dozens of people had already gathered.

Although they had heard much about him, most were seeing Lu Ye in person for the first time. They couldn't help but scrutinize him, finding nothing particularly extraordinary, but his status as a sovereign-level entity commanded their full attention.

Thus, even with their numerical advantage, the Wild Blade Sect cultivators felt tense and anxious. Conversely, Lu Ye, who had single-handedly breached their protective formation, remained perfectly calm and composed.

A man with a dignified appearance stepped forward and asked in a deep voice, "Lu Yiye, you have trespassed into my Wild Blade Sect stronghold. What is your intention?"

Anyone capable of stepping forward and speaking at this moment would be either the Guardian or Deputy Guardian; others lacked the authority.

Lu Ye tossed the storage bag in his hand towards the man.

The man caught it, opened it with a frown, then quickly put it away, his expression darkening. "What is the meaning of this?"

This was clearly the very storage bag that he had personally handed to a ghost cultivator in their sect, who then delivered it to Tianjian Peak.

It was the valuables worth 300,000 contribution points that the Wild Blade Sect had paid.

For Lu Yiye to suddenly return the storage bag untouched clearly indicated hostile intent.

"It's not enough!"

"Did you check it carefully?" the man gritted out.

It couldn't possibly be insufficient! He and a True Lake Realm elder from their sect were jointly responsible for this matter, so he knew better than anyone what was in the storage bag and its value.

Having chosen to "pay for peace," the Wild Blade Sect naturally wouldn't skimp on the valuables; that would undoubtedly be asking for trouble.

"You can sell it to the Heavenly Secret Repository now and see if it's worth 300,000 contribution points," Lu Ye said, looking at him expressionlessly.

Although he didn't know the exact value of the items, he was certain that selling them to the Heavenly Secret Repository would definitely not yield 300,000. The prices for buying and selling items at the Heavenly Secret Repository were vastly different, almost double.

The man's expression changed. "You're calculating it that way?" If that was the method, they would have to pay almost double the original value.

This was simply outrageous!

"Is there a problem?"

Not just a problem, a huge problem!

Furthermore, as far as he knew, the valuables paid by other Ten Thousand Demon Ridge sects were calculated based on their purchase price from the Heavenly Secret Repository, not their selling price.

The man, exasperated, laughed sardonically. "Lu Yiye, don't be so insatiable!"

"Are you insulting me?" Lu Ye stared intently at him.

"I didn't..."

Before his words fully left his lips, his expression dramatically changed. Lu Ye's figure suddenly blurred, appearing instantly before him. A fiery red saber light descended, and the man hastily summoned his spiritual artifact to block it.

With a resounding crash, immense force sent the man flying backward. He landed in the midst of the crowd, stumbled to his feet, and blood already trickled from the corner of his mouth!

His face was filled with horror. He was ranked in the top twenties on the Spirit Creek List, yet he couldn't even withstand a single, ordinary saber strike from Lu Ye!

"Today's matter," Lu Ye's voice slowly echoed, "can no longer be resolved without twenty copies of saber art cultivation insights!"