Chapter 445: 抢夺灵签

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

In the wilderness, four-colored clouds floated a thousand zhang above the ground. Lu Ye stood directly beneath them, gazing upward. Centered around Lu Ye, within a ten-mile radius, hundreds of cultivators stood scattered, poised and ready, each one eager for action.

Some cultivators focused solely on the colored clouds, while others silently observed their surroundings, seemingly searching for powerful competitors. Still others gathered in small groups, whispering, their demeanor suggesting they were forming temporary alliances.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, several streaks of light suddenly shot out from the colored clouds above. Something was vaguely concealed within these streaks. Lu Ye immediately focused his gaze, but even as he looked at the streaks of light, he couldn't discern what they contained.

The streaks of light that shot out from the colored clouds reached a hundred zhang above the ground in mere moments. Lu Ye was secretly alarmed. The intelligence was indeed correct; it was truly dangerous to be too close to the colored clouds at this moment. Such speed was impossible for a Cloud River Realm cultivator to evade; being struck by a streak of light would likely result in being pierced straight through.

Upon reaching a hundred zhang above the ground, the streaks of light suddenly decelerated sharply. Simultaneously, the objects within them revealed their true forms: each streak enveloped a spiritual token about a finger's length, an inch wide, and tapered from top to bottom. Its texture suggested it was carved from jade. Four of these spiritual tokens were white, and one was green.

Immediately, cultivators closer to these spiritual tokens leaped forth and flew to intercept them. Only five spiritual tokens descended in the first batch, yet more than a dozen cultivators flew out to claim them. The fortunate few directly secured a token without contention. The less fortunate, however, found themselves in a scramble, with multiple cultivators fighting over a single token, leading to immediate brawls. The green spiritual token, in particular, attracted five or six pairs of eyes, resulting in the most intense fighting.

Lu Ye remained still, primarily because those spiritual tokens were too far from his position; even if he flew, he wouldn't reach them in time. However, observing their fighting styles, it was clear they were all holding back. None of the cultivators gathered here revealed their faction allegiance. Consequently, if a fight broke out, their opponents could be from an opposing faction or even their own, an unavoidable reality. It was only then that Lu Ye realized, for the first time, how indistinct faction allegiances were here. Unlike his time in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, where cultivators from the same faction almost never encountered conflict.

Before the cultivators vying for the tokens had determined a victor, another dozen streaks of light shot forth from the colored clouds. This time, noticeably more green spiritual tokens descended. More cultivators rushed out, joining the scramble.

As time passed, spiritual tokens continuously fell in batches from the colored clouds. The ten-mile radius became a lively, chaotic scene, like salt sizzling in hot oil. Cultivators kept a close eye on their targets. Whenever a spiritual token landed nearby, they would fly out to snatch it, resulting in chaotic skirmishes that were disorienting to witness. Lu Ye stood innocently on the small hill, unmoving. It wasn't that he didn't want to claim a token; it was simply that his luck seemed to be terrible. Not a single token descending from the colored clouds had landed close to him; the nearest one was three miles away.

Gradually, Lu Ye began to understand. It appeared that no spiritual tokens fell directly beneath the colored clouds. It was like holding an umbrella on a rainy day: no raindrops fall beneath the canopy; they all drift down from the edges.

Just as Lu Ye considered changing his position, another batch of spiritual tokens descended. This time, a considerable number of spiritual tokens fell, numbering over a hundred. Remarkably, one of them was heading directly towards his location. Lu Ye was immensely relieved. After waiting for so long, he finally had an opportunity to act.

In an instant, the streak of light was only a hundred zhang away. By then, the color of the spiritual token within it was revealed: it was a blue token! Blue tokens had fallen before, but never in large numbers. The rarer and more valuable a token, the fewer its numbers, and no purple tokens had appeared yet.

Lu Ye shot skyward, covering the hundred-zhang distance in the blink of an eye. He swiftly seized the token. At the same instant, a fierce gust of wind assailed him from the side. From the corner of his eye, Lu Ye glimpsed a long spear thrusting directly at him. His Mountain-Shattering Saber roared from its sheath. A flash of fiery red blade light, followed by a clang, sent Lu Ye reeling back, his tiger's mouth tingling with numbness.

Lu Ye had limited experience with Cloud River Realm cultivators, making it difficult to accurately assess his opponent's cultivation. However, judging from this single exchange, the adversary was clearly stronger than him, conservatively estimated to be at the fourth or fifth layer of the Cloud River Realm!

Troublesome!

What made Lu Ye feel even worse was that just as he steadied himself, several figures rushed at him simultaneously from various directions. A blue token was already highly valuable, naturally prompting these cultivators to vie for it. Lu Ye briefly weighed his options: flee with the token, or divert the trouble. Without waiting for the others to truly close in, he directly flung the token in his hand towards the spear-wielding cultivator who had just attacked him.

The man was quick and grabbed the token. But before he could rejoice, several cultivators who were originally heading for Lu Ye immediately charged at him. His expression drastically changed, and he instantly brandished his long spear, engaging in combat with the incoming cultivators. Moments later, the man, bruised and disheveled, plummeted from the sky, screaming miserably. The blue token Lu Ye had thrown to him had already been tossed away. He had no choice but to discard it; holding onto it any longer would surely lead to death.

During the struggle for tokens, unless there was a genuine grudge, people generally refrained from delivering fatal blows, as no one knew which faction their opponent belonged to. Of course, fatalities still occurred. Cloud River Realm cultivators were not particularly old, and their vital energy was vigorous, making it easy for them to lose control during a fight. Witnessing this man's fate, Lu Ye secretly congratulated himself on his quick actions. If he had attempted to flee with the token, his outcome would very likely have mirrored that man's.

What a pity, Ju Jia wasn't here. If Ju Jia were here, it would be perfect. That large man was thick-skinned and durable, extremely resistant to damage. A few ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to do anything to him, and he could have simply given the token to Ju Jia.

The struggle for the tokens continued, and the four-colored clouds in the sky had already shrunk by more than half. Lu Ye attempted to act several more times, but found that with his current strength, it was difficult to secure a token. Many people were eyeing the green and blue tokens; even if he managed to grab one, he couldn't hold onto it. He could only settle for the less valuable white ones. However, many others shared the same idea. Each time tokens were bestowed, while white tokens were the most numerous, the competition for them was also fierce, requiring exceptional luck to secure one immediately.

Once again returning empty-handed, Lu Ye looked up at the four-colored clouds in the sky, noting that they had shrunk to only 30% of their original size. As he watched, the colored clouds trembled, then disintegrated, suddenly transforming into hundreds of streaks of light that scattered in all directions. This was the final batch of tokens, and among them, several purple tokens surprisingly appeared! There were also nearly twenty blue ones.

The cultivators erupted in excitement. Those confident in their strength and speed all targeted the purple and blue tokens. Although Lu Ye felt a strong urge, he suppressed his impulse. This time, he was quite lucky: a green and a white token were falling near him.

Lunging forward, Lu Ye moved directly towards the green token. When he was a dozen zhang away, just about to secure it, a colored ribbon suddenly attacked from the side. The ribbon, enveloped in spiritual light, was clearly a spiritual artifact. It swiftly coiled, sweeping both tokens into its grasp. Lu Ye was furious. Since he had begun, he hadn't managed to snatch even a single token. He had finally encountered such a prime opportunity, and for two tokens at that; he had to secure at least one!

As the Mountain-Shattering Saber hacked down, vital energy surged into his right arm, causing it to swell noticeably. Flash! The long saber, wreathed in fire, hacked down, striking the colored ribbon. The anticipated scene of the ribbon being severed by a single strike did not materialize. After all, this was a mid-grade spiritual artifact, not easily damaged, and its characteristic was indeed to overcome hardness with softness. Nevertheless, the immense force still dislodged the two tokens that the ribbon had coiled around.

Lu Ye was quick-witted and agile, snatching the green token. Just as he reached for the other, a slender, delicate hand extended, fingers clenched. It gently brushed against the back of Lu Ye's hand. In that instant, Lu Ye felt as if he had been bitten by a snake. The back of his hand stung terribly and was bright red. A beautiful figure brushed past him, an alluring fragrance lingering in his nostrils.

Lu Ye paused, looking up. Not far from him stood a graceful, alluring woman. A long, colored ribbon, the very spiritual artifact that had just snatched the tokens, was wrapped around her arms. It was casually wound twice around one arm, looped around her slender waist, and then wrapped around her other arm. Both of the woman's forearms were exposed, their dazzling fairness captivating the eye.

At this moment, the woman held a white token, gazing eagerly at the green one in Lu Ye's hand. In a sweet, delicate voice, she cooed, "Little brother, shall we trade?" Lu Ye promptly put the green token into his storage bag.

"Stingy!" The woman pouted. However, her expression quickly changed. She hastily moved to stand beside Lu Ye, adopting a combat stance, looking as though she would beat anyone who dared approach. Simultaneously, she whispered to Lu Ye, "Cooperate!" For no other reason than that several people were already rushing towards them.

Lu Ye nodded silently, standing shoulder to shoulder with the woman of unknown origin. The Mountain-Shattering Saber in his hand burst into flames. Upon seeing this, the approaching cultivators couldn't help but frown. If the tokens Lu Ye and the woman had snatched were blue or purple, the others certainly wouldn't have given up. Even if the two displayed a cooperative stance, they might not have been able to keep the tokens they had obtained. But for mere green and white ones, it wasn't worth such a commotion.