Chapter 432: Triumphant Return

Lu Ye asking the Mad Blade Sect for twenty copies of their blade technique insights was no big deal for the sect. He was certain that the insights provided would be relatively basic, not involving advanced cultivation techniques.

Lu Ye hadn't expected anything profound from them anyway.

As he read through the notes, he gradually gained some insights.

It wasn't until Yiyi came up with a washbasin, wet a towel, and carefully wiped Lu Ye's face a few times that he stopped.

A moment later, in the small courtyard outside the wooden house, Lu Ye and Hua Ci sat opposite each other, eating heartily.

After they had eaten their fill, Lu Ye said, "I need to return to the stronghold. I should be advancing to the Cloud River stage soon. What are your plans?"

"No immediate plans," Hua Ci replied casually as she tidied up.

"Staying here indefinitely?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

"Don't worry about me; I have my own arrangements. Just focus on your cultivation. Who knows, I might even advance faster than you while still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield," Hua Ci said, winking at him.

Lu Ye chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll have to work extra hard then."

He stood up, summoned his spiritual boat, and leaped onto it. "I've left some cultivation resources for you in the room on the third floor. I'll be waiting for you in the Cloud River Battlefield."

"Go on," she said.

Lu Ye nodded, then soared into the sky, disappearing as a streak of light.

Watching Lu Ye depart, Hua Ci smiled and continued clearing the messy dining table. There was no bitterness of separation in her heart; this brief farewell was merely for a better reunion.

When Lu Ye first set out from the stronghold to enter the core area, he and Ju Jia took turns controlling the spiritual artifact, spending a total of ten days to travel from the Blood Refinement Sect's stronghold to the Danxin Sect's stronghold.

However, his cultivation had significantly improved, making his spiritual artifact control speed and endurance incomparable to before. Thus, this time, it took him less than three days to return to the Blood Refinement Sect's stronghold.

As a Garrison Envoy, he was able to quietly enter the defensive formation. However, he was immediately detected by a cultivator monitoring the stronghold's situation. The cultivator approached to investigate, and upon seeing Lu Ye, exclaimed with delight, "Fifth Senior Brother is back!"

The news quickly spread, and people continuously gathered towards him.

Lu Ye glanced around, noticing that there were many cultivators in his stronghold, most of them unfamiliar faces, with only a small fraction he recognized.

Among the unfamiliar faces, some appeared noticeably young, looking only twelve or thirteen years old...

Lu Ye guessed that these very young individuals were likely recent disciples of their sect, while the slightly older ones might include some from their sect, but more probably were cultivators from other sects affiliated with the Blood Refinement Sect for cultivation.

Looking at the outer circle of the battlefield, there were countless sects, but regarding the richness of spiritual energy, the Blood Refinement Sect's stronghold was unparalleled. This was because Lu Ye had maximized the stronghold's spiritual energy enhancement during his previous return.

Compared to the wilderness, the spiritual energy concentration was eleven times higher, a level unmatched by any other sect in the outer circle.

To break this limit, the Blood Refinement Sect's rank would have to be elevated to Sixth Grade, allowing its stronghold to relocate to the inner circle of the battlefield.

Furthermore, the Blood Refinement Sect was currently at the height of its prestige. The nearby sects of Myriad Demon Ridge were suppressed and couldn't even raise their heads. Cultivating here under affiliation not only ensured cultivation efficiency but also guaranteed safety. Therefore, sects allied with the Blood Refinement Sect were keen to send their less cultivated disciples here.

The only potential drawback was a slower rate of acquiring merit points.

Within the stronghold, gazes filled with curiosity, admiration, and reverence converged on him, a mix of various emotions.

Lu Ye was surprised to find that most of the cultivators he had previously known were no longer there.

Individuals like Kong Niu, Ruan Lingyu, He Xiyin, and Gu Yang had all already entered the inner circle.

The Spirit Creek Battlefield had always been like this: a constant cycle of new replacing old. Cultivators tirelessly toiled on this vast battlefield, striving for their own cultivation and future. Only those who survived the tumultuous waves were the ultimate winners.

Lu Ye didn't even know who the current Deputy Garrison Envoy of the Blood Refinement Sect was...

He entered the Sky Machine Palace and exchanged the enhancements plundered from the Myriad Demon Ridge strongholds he had previously breached into sect merit points. Visibly, the number representing the sect's merit points increased rapidly and dramatically.

It's important to note that when two or three dozen sect strongholds in the core area were destroyed, all the enhancements were seized by Lu Ye alone. Even with significant losses during the plunder, the final amount acquired was terrifying.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sect's merit points settled at a number starting with 'three' and measured in tens of millions...

Such an immense amount of sect merit points was likely something only the Blood Refinement Sect possessed in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.

With so many merit points, the Blood Refinement Sect's stronghold could expand its influence tenfold or more.

However, Lu Ye did not plan to use these merit points for now. The sect's rank was bound to increase eventually, and once it reached a level allowing relocation to the inner circle, a large amount of merit points would be needed. Currently, there was no pressing need to spend merit points on the Blood Refinement Sect's stronghold, so accumulating more was beneficial.

He simply issued himself a monthly stipend, bringing his personal merit points to exactly one hundred thousand.

He used the Sky Machine Pillar to return to his sect.

Shui Yuan, who had already received the news, was waiting in front of the Sky Machine Palace. Noticing a stir, she looked up and couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Lu Ye walk out, a circle of storage bags hanging from his waist.

She had long heard that their Junior Brother had demanded many benefits from the hundreds of remaining Myriad Demon Ridge sects after breaching over twenty of their strongholds. Now, it seemed, those benefits were indeed quite substantial.

"Second Senior Sister," Lu Ye greeted, stepping forward.

Shui Yuan nodded, appraising him. "You've gotten darker, and stronger."

"Sun and wind exposure, nothing I could do about it," he said, unfastening the storage bags from his waist and handing them all to Shui Yuan. He instantly felt lighter.

"So much!" Shui Yuan only knew that Lu Ye had made a fortune this trip, but she didn't know the exact amount, as Myriad Demon Ridge wouldn't exactly publicize it. After a quick inspection, she was astonished to find that Myriad Demon Ridge had indeed bled quite a bit this time.

"Keep these for the sect's development; you can decide how to use them," Lu Ye said. "I'm going to pay my respects to the Sect Master."

"The old man isn't here," Shui Yuan replied.

"Then I'll go pay my respects to Madam Yun." It was customary to pay respects to these two elders first upon returning from outside.

"Wait a moment," Shui Yuan called out, then took a wooden box from her storage bag and handed it to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye took it and opened it, seeing two jade bottles inside. They contained some amber-colored spiritual pills, each about the size of a soybean.

"These were refined using the honey you had Ju Jia bring back. They have beautifying effects. Madam Yun should like them," she explained.

Women always care about their appearance, especially older women who fear losing their beauty. Hence, in the cultivation world, items with beautifying effects are generally highly sought after by female cultivators.

Lu Ye was surprised. "That honey has this effect?"

He truly hadn't known.

Last time, when Ju Jia was forced to advance to the Cloud River stage in the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye had him bring back a large amount of honey before returning to the sect. Lu Ye's original intention was for Shui Yuan to research whether the honey could be used to refine pills for restoring spiritual power. However, it seemed there were no such pills for restoring spiritual power, but beautifying and anti-aging ones had been refined instead.

"Yes, it does. I've tried it," Shui Yuan said with a smile. "And taking this is always better than taking fish every time."

"Second Senior Sister, you're so thoughtful." Saying this, Lu Ye simply handed all his remaining honey to Shui Yuan. Since honey had beautifying properties, keeping it would be a waste for him.

He also gave Shui Yuan the remaining small amount of royal jelly. How to process it was up to her.

Summoning his spiritual artifact, he headed directly to Mingxin Peak. After meeting Madam Yun and presenting the gift, Madam Yun indeed beamed with joy, in high spirits, praising Lu Ye for being filial and sensible.

However, the usual tests were still in place. Having been outside for a while, Lu Ye's mastery of the spiritual inscriptions path had improved, so handling Madam Yun's assessment was not difficult.

Under her guidance, Lu Ye benefited greatly.

He returned the books he had previously borrowed and borrowed a new batch.

Lu Ye realized that he had already read nearly half of the books on the path of spiritual inscriptions collected by Madam Yun.

By evening, Lu Ye bade farewell to Madam Yun.

"Come see me after you advance to the Cloud River stage."

"Understood."

"You may go."

As usual, the silent, perpetually smiling maidservant escorted Lu Ye out.

Every time he saw this maidservant, Lu Ye had a strange feeling, as if she wasn't as real as she appeared...

Returning to Jade Cauldron Peak, his Second Senior Sister had already prepared a table of medicinal cuisine.

Lu Ye ate heartily, with gusto.

"By the way, Second Senior Sister, you wanted me to return to the sect before advancing to Cloud River. Was there something specific?" Lu Ye asked as he ate.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted you to advance within the sect's stronghold so that the disciples could observe it properly. Also, the old man said your advancement this time might be somewhat extraordinary."

"Extraordinary?"

"Yes, but it's not convenient to tell you now, as the old man isn't certain either. You'll know when you advance," Shui Yuan said, serving Lu Ye some food.

Lu Ye nodded and then said, "Second Senior Sister, could you tell me about the Cloud River Battlefield?"

Since he would be entering the Cloud River Battlefield after his advancement, it was natural for him to learn some information about it beforehand.

"The Cloud River Battlefield..." Shui Yuan's eyes took on a reminiscent look, and she smiled slightly. "That place is completely different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The Cloud River Battlefield is far more interesting, but also much more dangerous..."

Shui Yuan had clearly experienced trials in the Cloud River Battlefield herself. She proceeded to explain some of the rules within the Cloud River Battlefield to Lu Ye, who listened intently and memorized them.

Finally, Shui Yuan cautioned, "Remember one thing: in the Cloud River Battlefield, the Myriad Demon Ridge faction isn't always an eternal enemy. Sometimes, you'll even need to cooperate with them to achieve your goals."

"Understood," Lu Ye replied.