Chapter 482: Spring Spirit Stolen

Lu Ye immediately surveyed his surroundings to ensure there was no danger.

His battlefield imprint vibrated with a message. He looked down and saw that it was from Xia Qianqian, asking him to meet her at a nearby Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance.

Back in the Myriad Beasts Domain, Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian's group had agreed to sell the Beast Seal technique to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury upon exiting the secret realm. For them, selling such a profound technique that could reshape a cultivation lineage was not primarily about the merits earned; the Heavenly Mystery's attention they would gain was the greatest benefit.

Taking out his map to pinpoint his location, Lu Ye summoned his flying spiritual artifact and soared into the sky.

An hour later, Lu Ye landed in front of the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance.

Three figures stood at the entrance of the Alliance. Upon seeing Lu Ye, Shen Xiaomao waved at him. Xia Qianqian was also there.

Lu Ye squinted at the last figure, feeling quite surprised. He hadn't expected Lan Ziyi to be there.

Lu Ye wasn't sure how this woman had managed to leave the bug nest and return to Two Realms City. However, her presence here clearly indicated she had left the Myriad Beasts Domain earlier than the others and was specifically waiting for him.

Their eyes met. Lu Ye remained expressionless, while Lan Ziyi's demeanor was indifferent.

"I thought you wouldn't show up, kid," Xia Qianqian chuckled, patting Lu Ye's shoulder with an old-fashioned tone. "You're a good lad. From now on, if you need anything on the Cloud River Battlefield, just say the word!"

Lu Ye turned to her. "You should be close to advancing to the True Lake realm, shouldn't you?"

Once she advanced to True Lake, Xia Qianqian would undoubtedly leave the Cloud River Battlefield. Where would Lu Ye find her then?

Xia Qianqian chuckled, "Still too early, still too early." She then changed the subject. "Now that everyone's here, let's proceed with our previous agreement to sell the secret technique to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury. But before that, we need to draft a Heavenly Mystery Pact to state that the four of us are selling this technique together. Of course, Lu Ye, you'll get the lion's share of the merits – how about seventy percent? The three of us will take ten percent each."

Shen Xiaomao and Lan Ziyi naturally had no objections, and Lu Ye also nodded.

Having made a promise, he naturally wouldn't go back on his word now. Although the secret technique had been given to him by the Grand Elder, the four of them had, after all, worked together harmoniously in the Myriad Beasts Domain. The three women had constantly stayed by his side, serving as maids. If Lu Ye was eating meat, the three women deserved at least a sip of the broth.

"I'll summon the Heavenly Mystery Pact," Xia Qianqian volunteered, her expression devout. After muttering for a moment, a golden light descended from the sky. She reached out, plucked a Heavenly Mystery Pact from the light, and handed it to everyone for review.

After confirming it was correct, they each pressed their handprints onto it.

"Alright, let's go sell it."

Lu Ye stepped into the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance and approached the Heavenly Mystery Pillar inside.

Every Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance had its own Heavenly Mystery Pillar, and cultivators could use them without any cost. However, the Alliance was bustling with people, and many wanted to use the Heavenly Mystery Pillar, so a queue was necessary.

After waiting for a moment, it was Lu Ye's turn. He raised his hand and pressed it onto the Heavenly Mystery Pillar, connecting his mind to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury.

His vision blurred, and he found himself in the Heavenly Mystery Treasury, surrounded by an dazzling array of goods. He took out the jade slip given to him by the Grand Elder, attempted to sell it, and checked the price.

As expected, the price was astonishingly high. Selling it directly to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury would yield a full 50,000 merits. With Lu Ye taking seventy percent, he would receive 35,000 merits from this single transaction. After all, this was something capable of altering the structure of an entire cultivation lineage, so its high value was entirely justifiable.

Without hesitation, he sold the jade slip. The battlefield imprint on the back of his hand warmed slightly, and Lu Ye looked down to check:Name: Lu Yiye.Identity: Disciple of the Azure Blood Sect.Cultivation: Cloud River Realm, Second Layer.Location: Cloud River Battlefield.Merits: 92,250 points.Military Achievements: 56 points.

His original merits were over 57,000 points. With the addition of 35,000 points, the numbers matched. Moreover, compared to the previous information recorded in his battlefield imprint, this time there was an additional entry for "Military Achievements," and the displayed number was precisely what remained after he had exchanged for spiritual talismans at the Quartermaster's Office.

Over 90,000 merits was undoubtedly a vast sum. Throughout the entire Cloud River Battlefield, there were likely few cultivators who possessed so many merits. After all, no one deliberately hoarded merits; they usually converted them into personal strength as quickly as possible.

The secret technique had been sold and recorded in the Heavenly Mystery Treasury. In the future, cultivators of the Beast Taming lineage could purchase it from the treasury for a certain amount of merits.

Lu Ye was curious. Since it sold for 50,000 merits, he wondered how much it would cost to buy it. He tried searching and quickly found the Beast Seal technique. Upon seeing the price, it required over 8,000 merits, making it more expensive than even the best Heaven-grade cultivation methods. Compared to the 50,000 he sold it for, 8,000 wasn't much. However, one must remember that Lu Ye's sale was a one-time transaction, whereas the Heavenly Mystery Treasury could sell it repeatedly. The number of Beast Taming cultivators in Kyushu was considerable. While the Beast Taming lineage was a minor lineage compared to the mainstream ones, it was a major lineage when compared to other minor ones. Presumably, many would be interested in this secret method. Selling one copy for 8,000 meant ten copies would yield 80,000.

When it came to business, the Heavenly Mystery Treasury had an inherent advantage. However, Lu Ye couldn't seek out buyers to sell this item himself. Transactions between cultivators couldn't involve merits, and selling it to cultivators wouldn't gain him the Heavenly Mystery's attention, which, compared to the merits received, was the greatest benefit. Lu Ye's current luck was indeed quite good, but no one would object to having even better luck.

Withdrawing his mind from the Heavenly Mystery Treasury, Lu Ye walked out of the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance. Xia Qianqian and Shen Xiaomao were still waiting for him, but Lan Ziyi was nowhere to be seen. The woman had clearly taken the opportunity to flee. She had waited there precisely because she didn't want to miss this opportunity. Now that she had gained her share, why would she linger? If Lu Ye found a chance, he would definitely try to kill her, and it was highly probable that she was no match for him now.

Xia Qianqian said, "Things are settled here. I'm leaving too. If you need anything in the future, just give a shout."

Shen Xiaomao bade her farewell, watching as Xia Qianqian soared into the sky.

"Lu Ye, shall we go back?" Shen Xiaomao asked.

"I need to buy some things. You can go back first."

"I'll wait for you. There's no rush."

Lu Ye turned and walked back into the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance. He needed to buy materials for refining formation flags. During his time in the Myriad Beasts Domain, his original formation flags were almost entirely depleted. For a formation cultivator, not having enough formation flags and bases undoubtedly affected their performance. Previously, in the Spiritual Stream Realm, Lu Ye could only purchase ready-made formation flags from the Heavenly Mystery Treasury because his cultivation was too weak to refine them out of thin air. He had constantly been on the move, and even if he had the materials, he didn't have a suitable place to refine them. But now that he was in the Cloud River Realm, things were different. His cultivation had greatly increased, and he could now almost refine formation flags in mid-air without external aid. Lu Ye intended to refine a batch of formation flags himself, which would save him a lot of merits.

Less than half an hour later, Lu Ye emerged from the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance once more. His spirit stones were almost completely spent, exchanged for a large pile of materials for refining formation flags.

Shen Xiaomao was still waiting outside.

"Let's go," Lu Ye called out to her, and soared into the sky. Shen Xiaomao followed closely.

Two streaks of light, one in front of the other, sped towards the location of their spiritual land.

Shen Xiaomao suddenly remembered something and asked with surprise, "Lu Ye, where's Sister Yiyi?" She hadn't seen Yiyi since entering the Myriad Beasts Domain. While it had seemed a bit strange at the time, she hadn't thought much of it. But not seeing Yiyi even now felt abnormal.

"She didn't enter the secret realm. I asked her to stay and look after the place," Lu Ye casually fabricated.

"Oh," Shen Xiaomao replied, not suspecting a thing.

Less than half a day later, when Lu Ye and Shen Xiaomao returned above their spiritual land, they stared blankly at the chaotic scene below. Originally, a concealment array had hidden the spiritual land, so even if ordinary cultivators passed nearby, they might not have discovered it without careful inspection. But now, the dilapidated spiritual land was openly exposed, clearly indicating that the grand array Lu Ye had left behind had been destroyed.

The two quickly entered the spiritual land to investigate.

A moment later, Lu Ye stood before a dried-up spring, his brow deeply furrowed.

Shen Xiaomao walked over from the side, her face grave. "Lu Ye, I couldn't find Sister Yiyi!"

Lu Ye had said Yiyi was looking after the place, but now Yiyi was gone, and the spiritual land had been invaded. It was clear that Yiyi was in grave danger! This made Shen Xiaomao very worried. Although Yiyi wasn't overly polite to Shen Xiaomao, Shen Xiaomao wasn't a petty person. Since Yiyi was Lu Ye's sister, she was naturally a companion.

Lu Ye continued to stare at the dried-up spring, his expression puzzled. When he first settled here, this spring had been dry. So, although some structures remained, it was a desolate spiritual land. However, he had been lucky enough that the spiritual spring revived on the very night he settled, subsequently making the spiritual land vibrant with spiritual energy. Yet, after his trip to the Myriad Beasts Domain, this already revived spiritual spring had dried up once more. If it had dried up naturally, it wouldn't have been an issue. However, the traces left by the grand array clearly indicated that this was a result of human intervention.

"Can spiritual springs be destroyed?" Lu Ye turned to Shen Xiaomao. In his view, someone had clearly acted maliciously, not only destroying his grand array but also ruining his spiritual spring.

"The Spring Spirit was stolen, the spiritual spring itself wasn't destroyed," Shen Xiaomao clarified.

"Spring Spirit? What's that?"

"Every spiritual land has a spiritual spring, and every spiritual spring has a Spring Spirit. The Spring Spirit is the source of the spiritual spring's energy. A spiritual spring without a Spring Spirit is just a dead object. Therefore, the Spring Spirit is the core of a spiritual land," Shen Xiaomao explained patiently. She added that if a cultivator was willing to spend a certain amount of merits, they could invoke the Heavenly Mystery to manifest a Spring Spirit. Then, by containing it in a special vessel, they could take the Spring Spirit with them. In this way, the spiritual spring would become a dead object.

Lu Ye listened, his face full of surprise. Although he had bought a lot of information from the Heavenly Mystery Commerce Alliance when he first entered the Cloud River Battlefield, none of that information had mentioned anything about Spring Spirits. It seemed there were still many things he didn't know.