Chapter 459: I am lucky

On the spirit boat, Lu Ye looked at the three women before him, a sense of unreality rising in his heart. He knew he was Lu Ye of the Blood Sect, yet the identity he had been given here constantly reminded him that he was the young master of the Myriad Beasts Sect!

The Myriad Beasts Sect was the most powerful sect in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain. Before the spread of the madness that drove spirit beasts insane, the Myriad Beasts Sect was truly the overlord of this world, with all other factions in the Myriad Beasts Domain dependent on its goodwill to survive. However, after the madness took hold and spread, every sect primarily focused on beast taming suffered heavy losses and subsequently fractured. The Myriad Beasts Sect was no exception; despite its formidable foundation allowing it to hold out until the very end, it ultimately could not escape the fate of its destruction.

Three days prior, the Myriad Beasts Sect had fallen under the onslaught of countless spirit beasts. Nearly eighty percent of its members, from the sect master down to the disciples, had been killed in battle. The survivors scattered and fled, intending to seek refuge in Two-Worlds City. Lu Ye and his three companions were among this group.

At this moment, the four of them were en route to Two-Worlds City, with more than half a day's journey remaining. As the young master of a sect that once dominated a world, Lu Ye's current status was undoubtedly prestigious. However, the sect itself had been destroyed three days ago, which left Lu Ye somewhat speechless. His esteemed identity had certainly lost much of its value. Still, considering the identities of Shen Xiaomao and Lan Ziyi, Lu Ye felt a little more balanced.

Yiyi was not here, nor was Amber! Lu Ye quickly used his battle imprint to send a message to Yiyi, inquiring about their current situation. Moments later, he received Yiyi's reply: Amber was currently in a city, but imprisoned. Many other spirit beasts were also confined with Amber. Yiyi herself was unsure of the situation and dared not make any rash moves, as their cage was very sturdy and Amber's strength alone couldn't break it open.

In a city... Currently, the only relatively safe city in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain was Two-Worlds City, so it was highly probable that Yiyi and the others were there. Lu Ye messaged Yiyi, telling her not to act rashly and to wait for his arrival, to which Yiyi naturally agreed.

"Watch out!" a low cry came, revealing it was the woman Lu Ye didn't recognize giving the warning. As her voice faded, a violent impact struck from the side. Lu Ye quickly turned his head and saw over a dozen massive forms surrounding their spirit artifact – a group of spirit beasts of various shapes. Each spirit beast's eyes glowed with a sickly crimson, a symptom of their madness. Several of them were frantically attacking the group's spirit artifact. In a blink, the flying spirit artifact shattered into pieces. Lu Ye and the three women quickly summoned their own spirit artifacts and soared into the air. With a loud bang, the flying spirit artifact exploded.

Aboard his own spirit boat, Lu Ye's weapon box hummed at his waist as nine imperial artifacts shot out, transforming into streams of light that slashed towards the nearest spirit beast. Simultaneously, Shen Xiaomao and the other two women also employed their respective abilities. For a moment, the flashes of imperial artifacts and the power of spells continuously erupted, and spiritual energy surged. Although these spirit beasts were quite formidable, their overall strength was not enough to render Lu Ye and his companions helpless. As the four of them fought, blood splattered. One by one, the spirit beasts were slain, falling as corpses from the sky.

After an intense battle, all the pursuing spirit beasts were killed. The four individuals then transformed into streaks of light and sped forward. Among them, the woman Lu Ye didn't recognize contributed the most, as her displayed cultivation was the highest, approximately at the eighth or ninth level of the Cloud River Realm. What also caught Lu Ye's attention was that Lan Ziyi's displayed strength had also reached the second level of the Cloud River Realm! He had advanced to the second level of the Cloud River Realm so quickly due to acquiring many Spirit Charms recently, and Lan Ziyi must have done the same. This suggested that Boundless Isle highly valued Lan Ziyi; otherwise, where would she have gotten so many Spirit Charms?

Just as he was thinking this, the woman Lu Ye didn't know suddenly spoke, "Let's all introduce ourselves. We'll likely be moving together from now on." Heaven's Will had arranged for the four of them to be together, clearly intending for them to assist each other. Otherwise, the woman would have left long ago. From her perspective, Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi, both at the second level of the Cloud River Realm, had cultivation levels that were simply too low. Shen Xiaomao, at the fifth level, was barely acceptable, but she definitely shouldn't have been paired with someone at the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm like herself. Since Heaven's Will had made such arrangements, there must be a reason.

"Ye Liu!" Lu Ye reported his alias as usual, without revealing his true origin."Shen Xiaomao.""Lan Ziyi."The woman at the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm nodded slightly, then said, "Xia Qianqian!"

With names exchanged, they were now acquainted. Throughout the process, Lu Ye showed no prior recognition of either Shen Xiaomao or Lan Ziyi, nor did Shen Xiaomao. From an outsider's perspective, all four individuals present were complete strangers to each other.

"Now, let's talk about our respective tasks," Xia Qianqian said, looking at Lu Ye. "Tell us, what is your mission?"

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then looked down at his right hand. On his right thumb was a jade thumb ring... He was certain he had never owned such a thing before. Combining this with the information that had flooded his mind earlier, Lu Ye understood. He showed the jade thumb ring to the three women. "My task is to take some of the Myriad Beasts Sect's assets to the lord of Two-Worlds City and secure a refuge for the sect's survivors." This was the mission he, as the "young master," now bore. This jade thumb ring was, strikingly, a valuable storage artifact and also Lu Ye's proof of identity.

"What about you?" Lu Ye asked the three women."To protect you," Shen Xiaomao replied first."To protect you!" Lan Ziyi stated, looking at him calmly.Xia Qianqian smiled but remained silent. Lu Ye then realized that her mission must also be to protect him!

The former second-ranked on the Spirit Creek List, an ally with whom he had signed a Heaven's Will Pact, and a ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator — the combined strength of this group was not too weak. With Lu Ye himself, such a lineup was sufficient to handle most challenges. Heaven's Will seemed to be rather benevolent towards him.

"Little Daoist, what extraordinary good deed have you done to make Heaven's Will value you so highly?" Xia Qianqian's eyes held a meaningful glint. "I've entered and exited this type of mystic realm many times, but I've never encountered a fellow Daoist who was granted such a high status upon entry, complete with three beautiful maidservants for personal protection."

"Perhaps I'm just lucky?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

Xia Qianqian chuckled, offering no comment, then suddenly looked with keen interest at the jade thumb ring on Lu Ye's hand. "Can you open it? Let's see if there are any good things inside."

"Is that appropriate?" Lu Ye hesitated. Heaven's Will had tasked him with taking this item to Two-Worlds City and presenting it to the city lord to secure a place of refuge for the Myriad Beasts Sect survivors. It was conceivable that the jade thumb ring contained many valuable items.

"It wouldn't hurt just to look," Xia Qianqian coaxed.Shen Xiaomao and Lan Ziyi also stared at him.Lu Ye hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Just a look, then..."

As he said this, he channeled spiritual energy into it, but there was no response. "It has a restriction lock! I'll try to open it!" Lu Ye said, carefully examining the structure of the lock. The result was highly surprising to him; the complexity of the restriction lock surpassed his imagination. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, I can't open it." Forcibly opening it was possible, but doing so would likely destroy the storage space within the jade thumb ring. The three women withdrew their gazes, somewhat disappointed.

Xia Qianqian said with a lack of interest, "Never mind. Since it's a gift from Heaven's Will, it probably isn't meant to be opened easily."

Shen Xiaomao said, "Sister Xia, you're the strongest and have visited many mystic realms of this type. Do you have any advice for us? Tell us so we can be more careful later." She was clearly asking on behalf of Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi. Both were at the second level of the Cloud River Realm, and it was obvious they had little experience dealing with such mystic realms.

Xia Qianqian replied, "I wouldn't call it advice, as the circumstances of each mystic realm differ, and so do the ways to handle them. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that everything within this mystic realm is real, and everything that happens here has genuinely occurred."

Lu Ye frowned. "What do you mean?"

Xia Qianqian pursed her lips and smiled. "Exactly what I said!"

Lu Ye pondered. "Daoist Xia, do you mean that what we are experiencing right now has genuinely happened in this world in the past?"

"Precisely!"

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't prove it, but it's truly the case. I once thought such things were impossible, but after experiencing it many times, you naturally come to know. Perhaps there was once a Myriad Beasts Domain somewhere in this world that suffered a great catastrophe and was destroyed. Then, what we call Heaven's Will refined it through mysterious means into a mystic realm, placing it throughout the Cloud River Battlefield for us to enter and temper ourselves. There are many such mystic realms on the Cloud River Battlefield; you'll encounter all sorts of them in the future."

"If that's truly the case, then if the Myriad Beasts Domain was destroyed, how could there still be spirit beasts remaining? The ones we just killed..."

"How can you be sure that the spirit beasts you killed were real? Perhaps they were creations of Heaven's Will, deceiving you?"

Lu Ye was somewhat bewildered by her words. Just as he was about to ask another question, Xia Qianqian said, "Alright, I'm not trying to debate anything with you. I just want to tell you that Heaven's Will is unfathomable. If you die here, you truly die! Perhaps one day, when we cultivate to the Divine Sea Realm, we will gradually understand the truth of this world. But for now... just follow Heaven's Will's arrangements. As the saying goes, 'Go with the flow of Heaven, and blessings will naturally come.'"

Lu Ye's heart trembled.

The truth of the world. He had heard these words once before, from the true dragon suppressed in Dragon Spring. That dragon had told him to seek it out again once he knew the truth of the world. If everything he saw before him wasn't the truth of the world, then what was?