Chapter 450: Coming Out to Entertain Guests

Winds of Kyushu

In the spiritual cultivation ground, Lu Ye sat casually on a stone, his Panshan Blade resting beside him. He held a scroll in his hand, reading with great interest, occasionally popping a spiritual pill into his mouth.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the cultivation ground had now completely stabilized. According to Shen Xiaomao's assessment, this spiritual cultivation ground was roughly C-grade or higher, though not quite reaching B-grade.

Lu Ye was quite astonished because the spiritual energy in this cultivation ground was three to four times denser than that found in the core area sects of the Spirit Stream Battlefield. If this wasn't even B-grade, then what would a B-grade spiritual ground be like? And what about an even better A-grade one? No wonder cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield eagerly sought spiritual grounds. For most cultivators who relied primarily on absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy for their practice, a good cultivation environment was incredibly important, directly influencing the speed of their progress.

In terms of experience navigating the Cloud River Battlefield, Shen Xiaomao was undoubtedly more seasoned than Lu Ye, a newcomer. Having spent the last two days together, Lu Ye had learned a lot of practical knowledge from her, including methods for assessing the grade of spiritual grounds. According to her, if one were to use the spiritual energy at a sect's outpost in the Spirit Stream Battlefield's core area as a benchmark, then spiritual grounds twice as dense would be considered D-grade. Three times denser was C-grade, four times was B-grade, and five times or more was A-grade. Judging by this standard, this spiritual ground was indeed between C-grade and B-grade.

The reason he wasn't cultivating in his room but had instead come outside was primarily to await one or two fortunate fellow cultivators who might pass by. Currently, only Lu Ye and Shen Xiaomao were in the spiritual ground. Lu Ye was at the first level of the Cloud River Realm, and Shen Xiaomao was at the fifth. Even though Lu Ye had set up numerous formations, their defensive strength was relatively weak, so they needed more people. On this point, Lu Ye and Shen Xiaomao were in agreement.

Generally speaking, a small spiritual ground like this would be occupied by three to five people. Lu Ye had already informed Ju Jia in advance, so they still needed one or two more individuals to assist. With the Heaven's Secret Pact previously signed as assurance, neither of them could privately summon familiar cultivators. Thus, they could only wait here, hoping to be lucky enough to encounter one or two suitable candidates. According to Shen Xiaomao, a spiritual ground of this moderate grade didn't need to be overly concerned about being targeted by powerful cultivators in the Cloud River Realm. Those strong cultivators preferred to occupy B-grade or even A-grade spiritual grounds. Such a ground, somewhere between C-grade and B-grade, was perfect for cultivators at the fourth or fifth levels of the Cloud River Realm. Therefore, a spiritual ground not being of a high grade wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If this one had reached A-grade, it might have attracted powerful cultivators at the eighth or ninth levels of the Cloud River Realm. If that were the case, the spiritual ground would certainly not be defensible. Only then did Lu Ye realize that there were so many intricacies involved with a mere spiritual ground.

This place was considered a desolate wilderness, hence rarely visited by people. Lu Ye waited outside for a whole day but didn't see a single soul.

On the second day, it was Shen Xiaomao's turn to stand guard outside. Having just entered the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Ye naturally made improving his cultivation his primary task. Only by doing so could he gain enough power for self-preservation. Therefore, he had cultivated diligently these past few days. Swallowing a large number of Vitality Spirit Pills, combined with the dense spiritual energy in the cultivation ground, the river of spiritual energy within his body grew stronger day by day. Cultivation in the Cloud River Realm involved strengthening the spiritual energy river. Each time a limit was broken, cultivation would advance by one level, until the spiritual energy river filled the entire body and transformed into a spiritual energy lake, thus forming a True Lake.

As he was cultivating, he suddenly heard Shen Xiaomao's voice from outside, accompanied by the voice of another person. Lu Ye put down the scroll in his hand and listened quietly. A moment later, he heard Shen Xiaomao shout from outside, "Fellow Daoist Ye, time to greet our guest!"

Lu Ye's face darkened upon hearing this. He stood up and pushed the door open. He saw Shen Xiaomao standing inside the grand formation. Outside the formation's light barrier stood another figure, unexpectedly also a woman. Her delicate expression and a tear mole beneath her eye made her seem vulnerable and alluring.

Shen Xiaomao enthusiastically greeted him, "Fellow Daoist Ye, we have a homeless fellow Daoist here! Her name is..."

"Ruan Qingzhu," the woman outside the formation said, curtsying gracefully. Her voice was soft and gentle, a complete contrast to the boisterous and carefree Shen Xiaomao.

"Yes, her name is Ruan Qingzhu," Shen Xiaomao nodded. "Fellow Daoist Ye, I've asked, and Fellow Daoist Ruan is willing to stay. Her strength is good; she's at the fourth level of the Cloud River Realm, which perfectly matches our requirements."

Ruan Qingzhu held her hands clasped before her abdomen and curtsied gracefully again. "Thank you for not abandoning me," she said. "If you would take me in, I will certainly advance and retreat together with you two fellow Daoists."

Lu Ye observed her for a moment, then nodded slightly. He took out the grand formation jade token to open the protective formation, allowing Ruan Qingzhu to walk inside. He then took out the Heaven's Secret Pact they had previously signed with Shen Xiaomao and handed it over, saying, "Take a look yourself. If there are no issues, sign it."

Ruan Qingzhu took it and examined it carefully for a moment. She smiled faintly and said, "No problem." As she spoke, she extended a finger, bit it to break the skin, then pressed her finger on the Heaven's Secret Pact to leave a blood seal. Lu Ye put away the Heaven's Secret Pact.

Shen Xiaomao clapped her hands nearby and said, "With this, we now have three people. Counting Fellow Daoist Ye's sectmate who hasn't arrived yet, that makes four. So we can accommodate one more person at most. I think this last spot can be filled by fate; there's no need to force it. What do you two think?"

"Agreed," Lu Ye said, naturally having no objections.

Ruan Qingzhu, having just arrived, had even fewer objections. She smiled and said, "I'll listen to Sister."

Shen Xiaomao beamed with joy. "Then it's settled," she said. "It's fate that we can gather here from across thousands of mountains and rivers. In the future, we'll have to rely heavily on both of you."

Ruan Qingzhu pursed her lips and smiled. "What are you saying, Sister?" she replied. "It's I who will have to rely on you."

Lu Ye had already turned and entered the house to continue cultivating. He only heard Shen Xiaomao tell Ruan Qingzhu outside, "This person is a bit sullen, but he's not bad. You'll get to know him slowly."

"Mhm," Ruan Qingzhu replied.

"Since you've just arrived, Sister, I'll show you to your quarters," Shen Xiaomao continued. "Which side would you like to stay on? There are a few empty rooms here; I live on this side."

"Then I'll be Sister's neighbor," Ruan Qingzhu said.

"Excellent," Shen Xiaomao agreed.

Inside the house, Lu Ye's brows were tightly furrowed. He felt that women were indeed very strange; they had only just met, yet they could become so familiar so quickly. It was truly bizarre.

With Ruan Qingzhu joining the spiritual ground, and her cultivation at the fourth level of the Cloud River Realm being quite good, their defensive strength naturally increased. Furthermore, with the numerous formations Lu Ye had set up, for others to attack and take over such a spiritual ground, they would need an overwhelming numerical or strength advantage. Otherwise, three to five ordinary individuals would not be enough to pose a threat.

Days passed, and Lu Ye became completely engrossed in his cultivation. The Vitality Spirit Pills he had brought from his sect were rapidly depleting. He suddenly realized that he had brought too few spiritual pills. Primarily, he hadn't expected the Cloud River Battlefield to be like this. In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, he could acquire cultivation resources by killing enemies and seizing their spoils, but in the Cloud River Battlefield, he hadn't killed anyone yet. This meant the spiritual pills he had brought were becoming insufficient. His primary method of cultivation was consuming spiritual pills. How could he cultivate if he didn't have enough?

He took out his Ten-Part Map to check. There was a Heaven's Secret Merchant Alliance branch eight hundred *li* away from their current location, which wasn't too far for him now. Traveling by flying artifact, a round trip would only take a little less than half a day.

The next day, he stepped out of his room and went to Shen Xiaomao's room nearby, raising his hand to knock on the door. The door opened, and Shen Xiaomao looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Is something wrong, Fellow Daoist Ye?" she asked.

"I need to go out for a trip."

"Oh," Shen Xiaomao nodded. "Then hurry back."

Lu Ye handed her the jade token for controlling the grand formation. "Be careful while I'm away," he instructed.

"Don't worry, we'll guard the home well!" Shen Xiaomao declared, patting her chest, which inadvertently made Lu Ye glance at her a couple more times.

Summoning his spiritual boat, Lu Ye soared into the sky. The door to the adjacent room opened, and Ruan Qingzhu poked her head out. She asked curiously, "Where is Fellow Daoist Ye going?"

Shen Xiaomao shook her head. "I didn't ask. He just said he needed to go out for a trip. Don't worry about him; he's a grown man."

Ruan Qingzhu pursed her lips and smiled.

Traveling by flying artifact, he moved with lightning speed, heading directly towards the Heaven's Secret Merchant Alliance. After cultivating for these past few days, although Lu Ye's cultivation hadn't broken through, the accumulation in his spiritual energy river had reached a limit. Lu Ye felt that he was about to break through, just needing that final push. However, even if he broke through, he would only be at the second level of the Cloud River Realm. Looking across the entire Cloud River Battlefield, his cultivation would still be among the lowest tier. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and one eats a meal one bite at a time.

In front of the Heaven's Secret Merchant Alliance, Lu Ye descended and walked inside. He found a merchant alliance steward and spent a significant amount of spiritual stones to buy a batch of Vitality Spirit Pills, keeping only a small amount for backup. The spiritual stones he had brought from his sect were not too many. If these spiritual pills were used up this time, he would have to find a way to acquire cultivation resources.

How to find them was a problem. Just as he was about to leave, the merchant alliance steward said, "Tonight, the Merchant Alliance will hold a spiritual lot auction. Among the items is a purple spiritual lot. If you are interested, you might consider staying to take a look."

Lu Ye was naturally interested. Spiritual lots were extremely helpful for cultivation advancement. He had previously obtained a purple and a green spiritual lot, and ever since he had used spiritual lots for cultivation, he had been unable to forget the feeling of rapid improvement. Unfortunately, such heaven-bestowed spiritual lots were rare and hard to come by; he hadn't encountered any more in recent days. Spiritual lot auctions used merit points as bids. He still had over seventy thousand merit points, and across the entire Cloud River Battlefield, there shouldn't be many people with more merit points than him. With so many merit points, he feared no opponent in an auction.

When Lu Ye first entered the Cloud River Battlefield some days ago, he had wanted to experience a spiritual lot auction. Unfortunately, that particular auction had just finished two days prior, so he hadn't caught it at the right time. This time, he finally had the chance to experience one, so he immediately decided to stay. He sent a message to Shen Xiaomao, telling her he would return a bit later. Shen Xiaomao quickly messaged back, acknowledging it and urging him to be careful. This made Lu Ye feel a slight warmth in this unfamiliar Cloud River Battlefield.