Chapter 494: This Person's Luck Can't Possibly Be This Good

In the valley, Jiang Liuzi's blood ran cold. He stared at the figure charging towards him, as if seeing an ancient beast unleashed from its cage. The indescribable pressure made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

This fellow... he's actually a soldier cultivator! Only now did Jiang Liuzi truly confirm Lu Ye's cultivation path. Everything the opponent had displayed earlier was merely a tactic to deceive him!

How cunning!

He vigorously wielded his longsword, dispelling all distracting thoughts. The sword light gleamed, and sword flowers began to bloom.

Fiery red spiritual power clung to the Panshan Saber, its edges sharpened by an inch of blade aura. As the long saber slashed, parried, and thrust, its glinting light swiftly extinguished the blooming sword flowers.

With continuous sharp clangs, sparks flew. Jiang Liuzi was forced to retreat incessantly, a gaping wound deep enough to expose bone now appearing on his chest. He had been wounded by Lu Ye just moments before, caught off guard.

Having already fought a major battle, he was severely depleted and now heavily injured. Jiang Liuzi no longer possessed his previous composure; even his breathing became ragged.

Every one of his opponent's strikes felt unblockable. The savage power and swift speed were simply beyond what a third-level Cloud River Realm cultivator should possess. Based purely on the strength Lu Ye unleashed, Jiang Liuzi almost thought his opponent was a body cultivator specializing in physical combat.

Only body cultivators possessed such immense strength.

And the speed of the saber strikes was something even he, a sword cultivator, couldn't match.

What distressed Jiang Liuzi even more was the spiritual light occasionally flashing on his opponent's long saber. Sometimes it struck down as light as nothing, other times as heavy as a mountain, making it impossible to defend against.

Even as he constantly retreated, he couldn't diminish the opponent's storm-like assault. In less than ten breaths, several more wounds deep enough to expose bone appeared on his body. The most severe was a piercing wound. Ordinarily, such an injury would not be life-threatening unless it struck a vital point. However, Jiang Liuzi distinctly felt something explode inside him the moment the opponent's long saber pierced his body. It was a series of extremely sharp barbs that had pierced his internal organs!

His strength rapidly drained away, and his vision blurred. Yet, even with the situation so dire, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

He was a sword cultivator, an unyielding sword cultivator. Rather than utter the words 'I surrender,' he would rather die fighting here!

At this moment, he only regretted his own naiveté. He had seen the opponent's exquisite spellcasting and assumed he was a spell cultivator. Had he not been so confident in his judgment and been ambushed by that saber strike, his situation might not have been so dire.

He had encountered cunning individuals before, but never one so treacherous. The main reason was that the fox-faced mask wearer's previous actions too closely resembled those of a spell cultivator. No one would have believed that his true identity was actually that of a soldier cultivator.

What kind of soldier cultivator could cast so many spells, and so quickly at that...

Looking at the fox-faced figure with its sly, mocking expression, Jiang Liuzi felt a surge of indignation. A mouthful of fresh blood, no longer suppressed, gushed from his mouth.

Jiang Liuzi gritted his teeth, pouring all his spiritual power frantically into his longsword. The sword instantly burst with brilliant spiritual light.

Across from him, Lu Ye perceived his opponent's intention: clearly, he was preparing an all-out strike. He didn't know what killer move the other party was about to unleash, but being in a dominant position, he naturally had no reason to fear.

His blood and qi churned, deepening their fusion with Amber's blood and qi, concentrating in his right arm.

However, before he could execute his saber technique, he frowned, suddenly leaping back a dozen zhang.

Jiang Liuzi had already prepared his killing blow, and a sky-shattering sword light came crashing down. But it was blocked by a figure who raised a hand.

It was none other than the young man from the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm. Even as a ninth-level cultivator, he was forced back a few steps after forcibly blocking Jiang Liuzi's move, spiritual energy surging around him.

Then he turned to Lu Ye, frowning as he said, "Surrender!"

Earlier, Xia Qianqian had surrendered on behalf of their side's soldier cultivator, so him stepping forward to surrender for Jiang Liuzi didn't break the rules. He knew that if he didn't intervene, Jiang Liuzi might truly die in battle here.

Sword cultivators all had this stubborn temperament. If Lu Ye's cultivation was higher than Jiang Liuzi's or even equal, it wouldn't matter much. The crucial point was that Lu Ye's cultivation was two minor levels lower than Jiang Liuzi's, which made it impossible for Jiang Liuzi to yield.

It would damage his sword heart.

As he uttered those two words, a thud came from behind him. The young man turned to see Jiang Liuzi, covered in blood, collapsed on the ground. Clearly, that final sword strike had completely exhausted all his strength.

"You're very good!" the young man said, looking at Lu Ye again with a face full of doubt.

A third-level Cloud River Realm cultivator had overcome Jiang Liuzi, two levels above him. Although deceit had been involved, this still demonstrated the opponent's formidable strength.

Who was this young man?

Someone with such a powerful foundation surely wasn't an obscure individual. And given his third-level cultivation, he probably hadn't been in the Cloud River battlefield for more than half a year, perhaps even less.

Therefore, if he truly wanted to inquire about this young man's identity, it wouldn't be difficult. He only needed to send a message and ask if any extraordinary individuals had emerged from the Spirit Creek battlefield in the past six months.

The young man flew away, carrying the unconscious Jiang Liuzi, while Lu Ye remained rooted to the spot.

Frankly, Lu Ye had gained an advantage in this fight against Jiang Liuzi. Aside from the fact that Jiang Liuzi had already expended some spiritual energy, the most crucial factor was his feigning to be a spell cultivator to lure Jiang Liuzi closer before striking with his saber.

Anyone in Jiang Liuzi's position would likely have been unable to block his premeditated saber strike.

The sudden burst of power was immense; only sufficiently strong defenses could withstand it.

A sword cultivator's defenses, naturally, wouldn't be particularly strong.

Of course, even without these tricks, Lu Ye was confident he could defeat Jiang Liuzi in a head-on battle. His opponent was indeed formidable, but was he any less so?

It just wouldn't have been as easy.

On the Spirit Peak, the fourth-level female spell cultivator's mouth formed a perfect O, remaining agape for a long time.

When she had initially realized Lu Ye was a spell cultivator, she had been quite worried. This was because sword cultivators held a strong suppression over spell cultivators; once a sword cultivator got close, a spell cultivator virtually had no chance of winning.

She had watched with bated breath until Jiang Liuzi charged towards Lu Ye. Then, she witnessed Lu Ye miraculously produce a saber and effortlessly overwhelm Jiang Liuzi, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The sudden, swift changes in his combat style left the female spell cultivator's heart fluttering, unable to regain her composure even now.

"Sister, is he a soldier cultivator?" she asked, a little belatedly.

"Sort of," Xia Qianqian replied, unsure how to define Lu Ye's path. This person was truly complex.

"He's so powerful!" the female spell cultivator exclaimed, her beautiful eyes gleaming with admiration. She wondered where her senior sister had found such an extraordinary helper.

Originally, Jiang Liuzi's displayed strength had already left her in awe. Now, she had witnessed an even greater power, proving there was always someone stronger.

Indeed, there were always many geniuses in this world, shining brightly, making ordinary cultivators like her feel humble.

On the opposing Spirit Peak, the young man and another youth finished checking Jiang Liuzi's injuries. The young man said, "Don't be careless; this guy is not right!"

By now, the young man even suspected Lu Ye might be wearing a spiritual artifact that concealed his cultivation. Otherwise, how could a third-level Cloud River Realm cultivator be so powerful?

The younger man bore some resemblance to Jiang Liuzi, but his expression was more sinister. Upon hearing this, he nodded and declared, "He's dead!"

As Jiang Liuzi's younger brother, seeing his sibling severely injured and unconscious, he was naturally enraged. He secretly vowed that he would kill that fox-faced individual later and make him understand the power of their two brothers.

In terms of direct combat strength, he was inferior to Jiang Liuzi. But when it came to killing, three Jiang Liuzis combined couldn't compare to him, because he was a ghost cultivator!

He darted out, flying straight towards the valley.

Lu Ye looked up, watching his opponent approach. However, the figure soon concealed himself, vanishing without a trace.

A ghost cultivator!

Behind the mask, Lu Ye's expression was strange.

Among all the major factions, ghost cultivators were his favorite. This was because they always relied on their ability to communicate with the netherworld, finding ways to stealthily infiltrate close to their enemies before launching a sudden attack.

However, for Lu Ye, the stealth techniques of ghost cultivators were essentially useless.

Imagine the horror of a confident ghost cultivator silently approaching an enemy, only for the enemy to strike first before they could even initiate their attack!

Without their stealth assassination methods, ghost cultivators of the same level were far inferior to soldier cultivators in direct combat!

Therefore, seeing his opponent conceal himself, Lu Ye immediately activated his Insight spiritual pattern in his eyes. At the same time, he darted forward, directly charging to meet the opponent.

The surrounding scenery transformed dramatically. Under the effect of the Insight spiritual pattern, various colors flowed and shifted within his vision. Lu Ye had been unaccustomed to it when he first activated the Insight spiritual pattern, but by now, he had grown used to this peculiar sight.

The stealthy Jiang Chenzi clearly hadn't expected Lu Ye to dare proactively engage a ghost cultivator. Slightly surprised, he also admired Lu Ye's courage.

Generally, cultivators facing ghost cultivators would adopt a passive strategy, waiting for their move. This was the very method Jiang Liuzi had used earlier to defeat Lu Ye's side's ghost cultivator.

Those who dared to proactively engage usually hoped to strike lucky and break the ghost cultivator's stealth technique. This was because a ghost cultivator wouldn't move too far immediately after going stealth, so if the attack range was wide enough, it was highly probable they could be forced out.

Jiang Chenzi had encountered such enemies before, but without exception, he had taught them a severe lesson. Thus, he believed the fox-faced individual opposite him had the same idea.

However, what surprised him was that even though the opponent charged straight at him, there was no sign of an attack. The long saber was simply held in his hand, with nine artifacts orbiting around him, as he charged directly towards Jiang Chenzi's hidden location.

Jiang Chenzi frowned and quickly changed his position.

The streams of light from the artifacts shot out in all directions. Jiang Chenzi's concealed figure suddenly became visible. He used a dagger in his hand to block a stream of light heading towards him, shouting internally, "How can this person be so lucky!"