Chapter 442: Poison Doctor Hua Ci

While Lu Ye honed himself in the Illusion Realm, undercurrents surged within the Spirit Creek Battlefield. All cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge were searching for one person: Hua Ci of the Bloodsmoke Sect!

This cultivator from the Bloodsmoke Sect had previously challenged the Spirit Creek Ranking. In just one day, she ascended to a rank in the seventies, killing every Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator she challenged. This enraged the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction. First, there was Lu Yiye, and now Hua Ci had emerged, using the same aggressive ranking challenge method and killing indiscriminately. It seemed the Bloodsmoke Sect was relentless.

Lu Yiye was incredibly powerful and well-established. Since his promotion to Heavenly Nine, he had been invincible in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction had no recourse against him. They had finally waited for him to ascend to the Cloud River realm and leave the Spirit Creek Battlefield, believing the immense pressure on them was gone. Yet, to their surprise, another Hua Ci appeared! What's more, this woman was merely a medical cultivator! Medical cultivators were supposed to practice healing and save lives; why was she joining the Spirit Creek Ranking?

All the previous resentment towards Lu Ye now shifted entirely to Hua Ci. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction was determined to find this woman and eliminate any future threat. There was no alternative; Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield now felt a pang of dread at the mere mention of "Bloodsmoke Sect." They absolutely would not allow another Bloodsmoke Sect disciple to appear on the Spirit Creek Ranking!

Yet, even with all the forces of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge working together, they couldn't uncover any information about Hua Ci. This medical cultivator seemed to be both present and absent from the Spirit Creek Battlefield; her presence was never detected at any outpost.

On the second day, Hua Ci's name had already climbed to the fiftieth rank. Compared to Lu Ye, her ascent up the rankings wasn't particularly fast, but her current position was already the highest ever achieved by a medical cultivator! Most people thought she would stop there. However, on the third day, her rank continued to climb steadily, and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators above her disappeared one by one.

On the fourth day, Hua Ci's renowned name had reached the top ten! The Spirit Creek Battlefield was in an uproar. No medical cultivator had ever achieved such a high rank. Hua Ci of the Bloodsmoke Sect had set a historical precedent, filling thousands of medical cultivators across the battlefield with pride. It was as if they had only just realized, "So, we medical cultivators can be this formidable in combat?" Inspired by Hua Ci, many medical cultivators immediately attempted to challenge the Spirit Creek Ranking. However, without exception, they were all soundly defeated.

Strictly speaking, throughout the years, with only a few exceptions, the strength difference among the top ten on the Spirit Creek Ranking has consistently been minimal. Hua Ci's current rank was tenth, and given her rapid ascent and battle achievements, she clearly had the qualifications to challenge for the top position. The current top spot on the Spirit Creek Ranking was held by Lan Ziyi, also a woman. For a time, countless eyes were fixed on the Spirit Creek Ranking, eager to see which of these two women was stronger.

However, just as everyone eagerly awaited the battle, the name of the top-ranked Lan Ziyi suddenly vanished. Soon, news arrived: Lan Ziyi had ascended to the Cloud River realm! Ascending to the Cloud River realm at such a moment made it seem as though Lan Ziyi was deliberately avoiding the fight. Rumors immediately began to circulate, and many cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge felt utterly disgraced. Endless Isle made no statement regarding this, further solidifying the rumors that Lan Ziyi had avoided the fight.

It was only then that cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield understood the combat methods of Hua Ci, the medical cultivator. Previously, all Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators she challenged had either refused to fight or died in battle, so no one had ever known how a medical cultivator like Hua Ci defeated her enemies. That changed after a battle following her entry into the top ten.

According to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge expert who barely survived that battle, Hua Ci of the Bloodsmoke Sect, despite being a medical cultivator, was a poison doctor! At the start of the fight, the woman directly launched a greenish, oily poison pill at him. The pill then exploded, filling the entire arena with toxic mist. The toxic mist was intensely virulent. The expert was poisoned and fell to the ground before he could even reach Hua Ci. Had he not surrendered in time, he likely would have died in the arena. Even so, the residual poison in his body was difficult to remove, forcing him to rush back to his sect and seek treatment from their medical cultivators.

A poison doctor! This was the true identity of Hua Ci of the Bloodsmoke Sect. The world was astonished. Many medical cultivators specialized in using poison, but no one had ever used such methods to challenge the top ten on the Spirit Creek Ranking, let alone defeat a top-ten cultivator. Following this battle, Hua Ci's rank steadily climbed. Without exception, every cultivator she challenged afterward directly refused her. Even these top-ten cultivators were not confident they could escape Hua Ci's potent poison unscathed. Exposure to such a virulent poison, even if not fatal, would waste a significant amount of time. Rather than risk that, it was better to forfeit the battle, which merely meant dropping one rank on the Spirit Creek Ranking.

Therefore, five days after Lu Ye ascended to the Cloud River realm, Hua Ci of the Bloodsmoke Sect rapidly ascended to the top of the Spirit Creek Ranking! And she did so as a medical cultivator. Unprecedented! The whole world was astonished!

Before this, the world only knew of Lu Yiye from the Bloodsmoke Sect. Now, however, Hua Ci's name also spread rapidly, revered by countless medical cultivators, even those from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction's only relief was that Hua Ci wasn't as disruptive as Lu Yiye. In fact, to this day, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction still did not know Hua Ci's whereabouts. Not only were the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge unaware of her location, but even the sects of the Vast Heaven Alliance had no clue. Hua Ci seemed to have appeared out of thin air; her presence was never detected at any outpost in the core region.

In his room at the Bloodsmoke Sect's main compound, Lu Ye studied the blade art cultivation insights in his hand, simultaneously activating his Talent Tree to absorb geo-fire and consuming spirit pills to replenish his depleted spiritual power. Over the past few days, continuous self-cultivation in the Illusion Realm had made Lu Ye fully accustomed to his rapidly surging strength. Compared to the power he could wield at Heavenly Nine, his current improvement was immense. No wonder people claimed that advancing to a higher realm was a qualitative leap.

His cultivation hadn't increased over these five days, as he had been constantly consuming his spiritual power. He had previously purchased a hundred portions of geo-fire from the Heavenly Secret Treasury, costing him twenty thousand merit points. After continuously absorbing it over the past few days, very little remained. Only after absorbing the final portion of geo-fire did Lu Ye set aside the blade art cultivation insights and inspect the changes in his Talent Tree.

Upon seeing it, Lu Ye frowned. By his estimation, one hundred portions of geo-fire should have illuminated at least fifty or sixty leaves. In reality, however, the number of illuminated leaves was less than half of what he had anticipated. Lu Ye examined them individually, discovering only four types of spirit patterns. The remaining leaves, however, all contained special techniques and methods for constructing spirit patterns. Although these were not spirit patterns themselves, they were extremely important to Lu Ye. The more techniques and methods he acquired, the easier it became to construct spirit patterns.

For instance, when setting up a teleportation array, without his extensive prior accumulation, even if he had learned the Void Spirit Pattern from a book—a pattern requiring over three thousand Yin-Yang dual units to construct—he wouldn't have been able to create it with his existing mastery of spirit patterns, let alone set up the array itself. It was precisely because he had mastered these techniques and methods that he was able to successfully construct the Void Spirit Pattern and enable the teleportation array to function.

The four spirit patterns he acquired this time were not particularly suited for combat: Leaf Dance, Blazing Fire, Water Arrow, and Earth Spikes. When constructed individually, they could form spells. This seemed to push him further down the path of a spell cultivator.

Although significantly fewer leaves were illuminated than anticipated, Lu Ye didn't feel it was a waste, as the Talent Tree itself required fuel. During the days when the primal magnetic roar enveloped the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had hidden in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest. Had he not allowed his Talent Tree to absorb and store sufficient geo-fire as fuel beforehand, how could he have remained immune to all poisons? Therefore, even if not a single leaf was illuminated, as long as the geo-fire was absorbed by the Talent Tree, it was not wasted. The Primordial Spirit Pills he was now consuming for cultivation were over ten times more potent than Spirit Nurturing Pills and contained a greater amount of pill toxins. Burning off these toxins, however, consumed the fuel stored by the Talent Tree.

He didn't buy more geo-fire, despite still possessing over seventy thousand merit points. Some things didn't need to be rushed. Furthermore, if the information he had received was correct, merit points would be of great use in the Cloud River Battlefield.

Five days after ascending to the Cloud River realm, Lu Ye emerged from his cultivation chambers. Disciples from his sect constantly came and went, all engaged in tasks to help him rebuild Verdant Bamboo Peak. Upon seeing him, they all respectfully bowed. Lu Ye ascended into the air and, moments later, hovered above Verdant Bamboo Peak. Looking down, he observed numerous disciples busily working. The dilapidated buildings had vanished, replaced by brand-new dwellings. At the summit of Verdant Bamboo Peak, a grand hall was also being constructed, appearing quite substantial in size. As cultivators, their work efficiency was remarkably high, particularly with a group of around a hundred individuals. Verdant Bamboo Peak should be fully rebuilt within ten to fifteen days. However, Lu Ye could not wait that long. He felt a slight regret, but fortunately, he would eventually return.

He returned to Shouzhen Peak and found his second senior sister."Are you going into the Cloud River Battlefield?" Shui Yuan seemed to sense his intention."Yes, my current realm is stable now. It's time to go in and cultivate.""Very well," Shui Yuan nodded. "Have you brought enough cultivation resources? If not, take more.""I've brought a lot.""The Cloud River Battlefield differs significantly from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. I've mentioned some things before, but much more cannot be conveyed in a few words. Once you enter, remember to purchase a basic intelligence report about the Cloud River Battlefield from the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, and also acquire a comprehensive map of the Cloud River Battlefield. These are crucial.""I've made a note of it.""The Spirit Creek Battlefield typically features confrontations between cultivators from two major factions. While the Cloud River Battlefield will not lack such conflicts, it is more often characterized by the competition for cultivation resources. If you are strong enough, your cultivation speed can surpass others. As you've just ascended to the Cloud River realm, remember to prioritize stability in all things. If you encounter an unbeatable opponent, your foremost goal must be self-preservation; only by surviving can you have a future. Additionally, once inside, you can contact your fourth senior brother.""Understood."

Like a worried elder watching a child about to embark on a distant journey, Shui Yuan continuously gave Lu Ye various instructions and warnings. After a long while, Lu Ye finally bade farewell to Shui Yuan, taking Amber and Yiyi with him, and strode towards the Heavenly Secret Hall.

Cloud River Battlefield, here I come!