Chapter 523: Another Golden Spiritual Sign

“The Heavenly Mystery's protection can last for several hours?” Lu Ye was astonished.

“At least that long. As for the exact duration, I'm not sure. I'd only heard rumors; this is the first time I've seen one.” Feng Yuechan added, “This is a gift from the Heavenly Mystery. I'd only heard of people obtaining Golden Body Tokens in secret realms, but I didn't realize they could appear in the Hunting Grounds. However, since it's a divine gift, and there are all sorts of scattered opportunities here, it's certainly possible. Someone must have acquired this Golden Body Token but didn't get to use it, which turned out to be a boon for us.”

Her words reminded Lu Ye of a small detail. Just moments ago, during the ambush on that Myriad Demon Ridge cultivation team, one of them had indeed tried to retrieve something from his storage bag. Unfortunately, he was ambushed and killed by Lu Ye, who had been lurking nearby, before he could do so. Now it seemed that person must have been trying to take out the Golden Body Token from his storage bag. Otherwise, why would he reach into his storage bag at such a critical moment of life or death?

“Junior Brother,” Li Baxian urged, “This item is rare. Keep it safe; it can save your life at a crucial moment.” A single Golden Body Token was an impenetrable barrier, a protection bestowed by Heaven that ordinary means simply couldn't break. After the hardships of the past few days – encountering a ninth-level expert and fighting a life-or-death battle with a seventh-level opponent – Li Baxian had thought something was wrong with his Junior Brother's luck. But now it seemed his Junior Brother's luck was still strong; obtaining something as rare as a Golden Body Token was certainly no ordinary stroke of fortune.

“How is this item used?” Lu Ye asked. Li Baxian replied, “Just channel spiritual power into it.” It was simple enough. Lu Ye nodded and carefully put away the Golden Body Token. Something that could save one's life in a crisis was indeed more valuable than any treasure. While many treasures were desirable, one only had a single life.

After a brief rest, they continued their journey.

Two days later, Lu Ye lay hidden in ambush. Since acquiring the Golden Body Token, their luck had been exceptional. Their gains over the past two days were significant, and Lu Ye's ranking on the hunting leaderboard had now reached third place, only about five hundred hunting points behind Tan Sheng, who was in first. At this rate, he should be able to overtake him within a few days. Of course, half a month had already passed since the Hunting Grounds opened, so whether he could reclaim the top spot before its closure remained uncertain.

They had been waiting at this location for roughly three hours. During that time, a team of cultivators passed by, but after Li Baxian launched a sneak attack and confirmed they belonged to the Vast Heaven Alliance, they had no choice but to let them go. Just as boredom began to set in, a fierce spiritual energy fluctuation suddenly erupted several miles away. Lu Ye looked up in the direction of the disturbance, and a dazzling pillar of light entered his vision.

This was... This was the phenomenon of a special golden Spirit Talisman exploding! Lu Ye was naturally familiar with this kind of commotion; a golden Spirit Talisman bestowed by the Heavenly Mystery had detonated in his hands no less than four times before. This was his first time witnessing a Spirit Talisman erupt from someone else's possession, and its grandeur was indeed astonishing. Although someone was chosen by the Heavenly Mystery every day to receive a Spirit Talisman, the Hunting Grounds were vast, and Lu Ye's group often stuck to ambushes, so their area of activity wasn't particularly large. When previous Spirit Talismans had erupted, they were too far away to notice. He hadn't expected it to be so close this time.

Lu Ye's thoughts whirled, but he quickly calmed his mind. He had no intention of getting involved in such commotion. Although he had personally benefited from such special golden Spirit Talismans before, with a talisman erupting now, nearby cultivators were undoubtedly rushing to the scene. There would surely be many experts impossible to contend with. Even a seventh-level He Bing had forced them to rest for three days; if they provoked someone stronger, there would be no way to escape the consequences. The Golden Body Token could only protect one person. In fact, if not for the fear of exposing their whereabouts, Lu Ye would have preferred to leave this troublesome place. A distance of a few miles was truly too close for Cloud River Realm cultivators, but moving rashly now was not a good strategy. It was better to remain hidden.

Just as he was thinking this, a figure suddenly entered his field of vision. The person looked anxious, as if fleeing, soaring through the air merely seven or eight zhang above the ground. Judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from them, this person was a sixth-level cultivator. As the person fled, they muttered curses under their breath, their expression clearly one of extreme indignation. Lu Ye's heart stirred, and he had a vague suspicion. Just as he was about to send a message to Li Baxian, a sword light streaked out, revealing Li Baxian's figure, who lunged directly at the sixth-level cultivator.

The person, already tense, changed their expression drastically when suddenly ambushed, and hastily moved to defend. In their hurried exchange, the battle marks on the backs of both Li Baxian's and the newcomer's hands glowed with two distinct colors. Sensing Li Baxian's fourth-level cultivation, the person became enraged: “A mere fourth-level cultivator dares to try and seize treasure? You're asking for death!” With these words, they raised a finger, and streams of spirit tools launched towards Li Baxian. The latter defended with his flying sword, creating a rapid series of clanging sounds.

While this person was busy fighting Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan suddenly appeared from the side. Her magical techniques slammed into them, putting the individual in an extremely desperate situation under their pincer attack. Although there was only one level difference between seventh-level and sixth-level cultivators, the disparity in strength was significant. Moreover, this person's foundation was clearly inferior to He Bing's. He Bing had advanced to the Cloud River Realm with three hundred sixty opened orifices, but this individual had not advanced in a state of 'Great Perfection.' When he was in the Spirit Creek Realm, he had only opened two hundred ninety-eight orifices. Such a sixth-level cultivator, under a combined assault from Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, was naturally stretched thin. Let alone the two of them working together, even individually, they possessed the strength to contend with him.

Realizing how troublesome Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were, the person's expression turned grim. He felt utterly cursed; to be intercepted while fleeing from this direction, and from the look of it, the opponents had clearly been waiting here for a long time. This wasn't an ambush specifically for him; they were merely hunting here, and he had unwittingly stumbled into their trap. If it weren't for the fact that the item, once bestowed, couldn't be given away, he would have undoubtedly offered the treasure in exchange for his life right then. But he had already tried to discard it earlier, only to find it impossible to get rid of – that was the most despairing aspect of it all.

He had considered seeking protection from a Myriad Demon Ridge expert, but all the strong cultivators were currently preoccupied with competing for ranking on the hunting leaderboard. Who had time to protect him? And with time pressing, he couldn't even contact a suitable expert. He only cursed Heaven's blindness; with so many people in the Hunting Grounds, why was he the one singled out? His situation was already precarious, and under such frantic thoughts, the circumstances turned even more unfavorable for him.

Suddenly, a chilling killing intent assailed him from behind, followed by intense pain that swept through his entire body. Caught off guard, the person's figure flew backward, landing clumsily on the ground. Where the person had just been, Lu Ye's figure materialized, his Mountain-Shattering Blade wreathed in fiery light. With one successful strike, Lu Ye rushed forward. Li Baxian's flying sword and Feng Yuechan's magical arts also struck from the side. The person scrambled to their feet, frantically deflecting the flying sword, only to stumble from the impact of the magical arts. Lu Ye had already sprinted to his front, and the Mountain-Shattering Blade descended. The person was utterly incapable of resisting. Blood splattered as the broken body crashed to the ground.

Somewhat surprisingly, this sixth-level cultivator was... unexpectedly weak. Lu Ye, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechan had previously teamed up to kill two or three other sixth-level cultivators, but none had performed as poorly as this one. Presumably, this person's foundation was very shallow, having not opened many spiritual orifices back in the Spirit Creek Realm. They hastily gathered the spoils of war, collecting the person's storage bag and spirit tools. Lu Ye then reached into the person's robes and, as expected, pulled out a golden Spirit Talisman, wreathed in a faint azure glow...

“Let's go!” At Lu Ye's call, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan quickly followed, not even having time to collect the scattered formation flags and foundations. They had run less than a hundred zhang when a stream of light approached them from the front, arriving in a blink and revealing a lone figure. Clearly, sensing the commotion of the fight, this person had come to investigate. Lu Ye and the other two braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy. Fortunately, the battle marks on their hands did not glow, indicating the newcomer was from the Vast Heaven Alliance. Sensing the cultivation levels of Lu Ye's group, the person waved a hand, signaling them to leave quickly. Lu Ye clasped his fist in acknowledgment, and then, with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, swiftly departed.

Moments later, the sound of intense fighting echoed from behind them. It seemed the Vast Heaven Alliance expert had encountered cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge. Such a commotion would undoubtedly attract many cultivators to investigate, and in this way, the greater the disturbance, the safer Lu Ye and his companions would be. After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the three of them successively rushed into a mountain cave. Lu Ye immediately activated the concealment formation within the cave, masking their auras, and then waited on the teleportation array. Their luck held up well this time. On their way back, they hadn't encountered anyone else except for that one Vast Heaven Alliance member, so they hadn't been exposed yet and weren't in a rush to teleport away. It wouldn't be too late to teleport once others actually found this location.

Time passed. From time to time, the sounds of rushing air reached their ears, and the intermittent sounds of intense battles echoed from afar. These were clearly cultivators from both major factions, drawn by the previous anomaly. Neither side knew who currently held the golden Spirit Talisman. This was mainly due to Lu Ye and his companions' good fortune and swift actions; as soon as the anomaly appeared, the person holding the golden Spirit Talisman had stumbled right into their ambush. Once that person died, the golden Spirit Talisman's whereabouts became unknown.

One hour, two hours... The commotion outside gradually subsided, and Lu Ye and the others, whose nerves had been tightly strung, finally relaxed. Only then did they feel inclined to examine their spoils. There were several storage bags, which they opened one by one. They found nothing particularly valuable, the only truly precious item being the golden Spirit Talisman Lu Ye had retrieved from the person's robes. Undoubtedly, this was a special Spirit Talisman bestowed by the Heavenly Mystery, its faint azure glow serving as the clearest indicator. Lu Ye hadn't expected to acquire another such Spirit Talisman. However, with his previous experience, he was confident in keeping it; as long as his luck wasn't too bad, this Spirit Talisman would essentially be safe from being taken by others. For ordinary cultivators, a Spirit Talisman bestowed by the Heavenly Mystery was not necessarily a good thing. Before its time limit expired, it couldn't be used, stored in a storage bag, or even discarded; it had to be carried on one's person.