Chapter 53: Positioning

Since he had decided to leave this place, a precise map was essential. Therefore, before that, he had to make a trip to Qingyun Market, whether he liked it or not.

Early the next morning, Lu Ye appeared at the Tianji Merchant Guild. According to Liu Ruyin's dying words, she had inadvertently seen Lu Ye when he made his second transaction at the Merchant Guild. As it happened, a man named Liu Quan, who was acquainted with her, helped her casually inquire about the details of the transaction.

At that time, Liu Ruyin suspected Lu Ye possessed a rich ore vein and harbored ill intentions. Unable to suppress her greed, she contacted the pale-faced man, telling him to be prepared. After that, Liu Ruyin watched him daily. It wasn't until Lu Ye's third visit to the Merchant Guild, where he conducted an even larger transaction, that she made up her mind, leading to the pale-faced man's pursuit.

Liu Ruyin, fearing the pale-faced man would monopolize the profits, took leave shortly after Lu Ye departed and pursued him. She never expected to witness Lu Ye personally slay the pale-faced man, ultimately losing her own life as well.

Given Liu Ruyin's state before her death, it was impossible for her to lie. Therefore, no one should know of her demise for now. For the time being, he was safe, which was why Lu Ye had rushed to the market. Previously, he had sold Primordial Magnetic Ore in small increments, fearing he might attract attention. Each sale only provided enough for his short-term cultivation needs. Now that he had decided to leave, there was no need to worry so much. He needed to acquire a map first to locate the Jadeblood Sect's stronghold!

Half an hour later, inside a private compartment, Lu Ye drank tea until he was full. A middle-aged man politely handed Lu Ye a palm-sized white jade disk. Along with it were two bottles containing eighteen Spirit Nurturing Pills each, three bottles containing fifteen Healing Pills each, and over ten Spirit Stones.

This time, Lu Ye sold twelve pieces of Primordial Magnetic Ore in one go! He gained over six hundred Spirit Stones. In the outer perimeter of the battlefield, this was undoubtedly a significant transaction, warranting the middle-aged man's respectful treatment of Lu Ye. It proved that, barring certain coincidences, conducting business at the Tianji Merchant Guild was generally safe. Lu Ye had visited four times, and each time he dealt with a different person. Unless he brought too many goods, as he did this time, it was difficult to be targeted. Of course, being targeted was also partly due to Lu Ye's relatively low strength. If he had been a cultivator at the Spirit Stream Realm's fourth or fifth layer, Liu Ruyin would never have dared to harbor ill intentions.

With the transaction complete, the middle-aged man escorted Lu Ye to the door and presented him with a name card, stating that if Lu Ye had anything else to sell next time, he could contact him in advance for a good price. This was a level of treatment Lu Ye had not received during his previous three visits. Naturally, Lu Ye readily agreed.

Leaving the Tianji Merchant Guild, Lu Ye, as usual, exchanged all the Spirit Stones for food and some daily necessities. Spirit Stones were not of much use to him. This journey might involve a long trek, with exposure to the elements, so daily necessities were indispensable. Fortunately, he had enough storage bags, so he didn't have to worry about not having enough space.

Through this transaction, Lu Ye's Spirit Nurturing Pills increased to 111, and his Healing Pills totaled 22. However, he only had 14 pieces of Primordial Magnetic Ore left. He had initially thought the Primordial Magnetic Ore he possessed would last him a long time, perhaps even allowing him to cultivate to the ninth layer of the Spirit Stream Realm. But now, it seemed entirely insufficient. He needed to return to the Jadeblood Sect's stronghold as soon as possible, as he would only be truly safe there.

After less than half a day, Lu Ye returned to his cave dwelling and took out the white jade disk. This was the detailed map of the Spirit Stream Battlefield! It included the distribution of strongholds for various major forces across the entire battlefield, as well as the battlefield's topography and some dangerous areas. However, the thought of this item costing six hundred Spirit Stones made Lu Ye's heart ache. He hadn't spent six hundred Spirit Stones on his cultivation to date, but returning to the Sect's stronghold was a necessary cost. The only consolation was that the map could be updated at any Tianji Merchant Guild branch, ensuring it would never become obsolete.

Holding the white jade disk in both hands, Lu Ye channeled spiritual power into it. The disk immediately emitted a soft glow, forming a halo on its surface. The halo twisted and changed, instantly transforming into a map. To Lu Ye's surprise, it wasn't a flat map but a three-dimensional one. He saw many undulating mountain ranges on the map, each with a different height.

At one point on the map, there was a constantly flashing light. Lu Ye shifted his gaze to that spot, and the light didn't change. However, when he concentrated his spiritual power towards the light, that area immediately magnified. As spiritual power flowed in, the map continuously enlarged, but since the disk itself was only so big, the area it could encompass gradually shrank with the magnification.

Finally, the map was magnified to its maximum, and Lu Ye saw the light point situated within a continuous mountain range, which was labeled Qingyun Mountain. Nearby, there was a label for "Qingyun Market Three." Lu Ye immediately understood that the light point indicated his current location! And "Qingyun Market Three" was the market he frequented. Besides this market, there were also "Qingyun Market One," "Two," and up to "Six" labeled near Qingyun Mountain. In other words, there were a total of six markets around the outer perimeter of Qingyun Mountain.

After playing with it for a while, Lu Ye gradually understood how to use the detailed map. He began searching for the Jadeblood Sect's location, secretly praying that he wasn't too far from the sect's stronghold. If it was too far, he didn't know how long it would take him to return. The Jadeblood Sect was a ninth-grade sect, so its stronghold was naturally located in the outer perimeter, which reduced the difficulty of the search. Lu Ye meticulously scanned, his gaze sweeping over name after name. At one point, he almost thought he had found the characters for "Jadeblood Sect," but upon closer inspection, it was "Jadeheart Sect," frustrating him immensely.

After searching halfway around, Lu Ye still hadn't found the Jadeblood Sect. However, his extremely tense mood began to relax, because this meant the situation couldn't get much worse. A moment later, still unable to find it, Lu Ye's spirits actually lifted. This implied he wasn't too far from the Jadeblood Sect.

Finally, Lu Ye's gaze fixed on a certain spot on the map. There, in large characters, was the name he had sought so diligently: Jadeblood Sect.

He found it!

Calming himself slightly, Lu Ye zoomed out the map to compare his location with that of the Jadeblood Sect. His current position was slightly west of due south on the map, while the Jadeblood Sect's location was slightly north of due west. In other words, if he wanted to travel to the Jadeblood Sect's stronghold, he would have to head west, traversing approximately a quarter of the battlefield's perimeter arc.

The situation was neither good nor bad; it was within acceptable limits.