Chapter 595: Borrowing a Knife to Kill

Heaven's Decree Baptism was only available to cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking. There was no similar Cloud River Ranking in the Cloud River Battlefield, and it was previously unheard of for any Cloud River Realm cultivator to receive Heaven's Decree Baptism. Yet, Lu Ye and the others unexpectedly encountered it here.

It appeared that activating the altar didn't lead to the secret realm Feng Yuechan had guessed, but was merely a Heaven's Decree Baptism.

However, for Lu Ye and the others, this was the best and most practical reward.

After the initial excitement, Lu Ye suddenly realized a problem.

In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, he had received Heaven's Decree Baptism four times in succession. Each time, the effect was weaker than the last, and by the end of the fourth time, it was almost negligible. This was also why he had resolutely advanced to the Cloud River Realm afterward; if he could still gain significant benefits, why would he have left the Spirit Stream Battlefield?

It wasn't just him; Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were in the same situation. These two had held positions on the Spirit Stream Ranking for over a decade. It was said that by the end, Heaven's Decree no longer provided any guidance to them; their continued presence on the Spirit Stream Ranking was merely a formality, without any substantial rewards.

Of the four present, including Amber, only Ju Jia had never experienced Heaven's Decree Baptism.

So... even if this was a place for Heaven's Decree Baptism, could it truly be effective for them?

If it was useless, even in a Heaven's Decree Baptism location, they would gain no benefits.

Li Baxian had clearly also realized this problem and was already quietly refining the surrounding energy. A moment later, his expression brightened, "It's effective!"

Lu Ye also tried and found that, just as Li Baxian said, the mist here was somewhat different from the Heaven's Decree Baptism received from the Spirit Stream Ranking; it was clearly more advanced. While the Spirit Stream Ranking's Heaven's Decree Baptism was no longer useful to Lu Ye and the others, this one was indeed effective.

"Disperse," Lu Ye said.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both nodded in agreement.

Ju Jia had already sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began cultivating. As he breathed in and out, large amounts of dense white mist were drawn into his mouth and flowed into his internal organs.

Lu Ye walked in one direction, but after walking less than thirty zhang, an invisible barrier blocked his path ahead.

He raised a hand to test it and found the barrier incredibly solid, impossible for his current cultivation to shake. He changed direction and walked to the side.

After walking another few dozen zhang, as expected, another invisible barrier appeared ahead.

It appeared that the space here wasn't large, only a few dozen zhang in length and width.

Looking back, he could no longer see Li Baxian and the others; the dense white mist swirled, obstructing his view.

He stopped exploring; there was no need to continue. Lu Ye sat down where he was and began constructing small Spirit Gathering Funnels on himself.

Yi Yi also flashed out from inside Amber and sat down to cultivate about three zhang away from him. Amber, meanwhile, opened his mouth wide and ravenously devoured the ubiquitous mist.

With each Spirit Gathering Funnel added, the surrounding mist was drawn by an invisible force, constantly pouring into Lu Ye's body. As the number of Spirit Gathering Funnels increased, the flow of mist around Lu Ye became visibly discernible.

His cultivation aptitude was indeed very poor; he couldn't properly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nor could he extract spiritual power from spirit stones.

But with his unique cultivation method, in such an environment, the benefits he could gain were unparalleled.

Recalling back in Dragon Spring, and in the Soul Cleansing Pool, he had utilized this cultivation method to obtain unimaginable benefits.

Just now, with a brief taste, though he confirmed the white mist here was of a higher grade than that from the Spirit Stream Ranking's Heaven's Decree Baptism, it was hard to determine exactly how much higher.

Until now.

Lu Ye's face showed a hidden look of surprise.

Because as the invisible energy from all around surged into his body, every piece of flesh and blood in his body was slowly wriggling—a sign that his physique was strengthening. His entire mind felt as if it were in the clouds, floating like an immortal, and his mental power was also strengthening at an incredibly fast pace.

Not only that, but a surge of powerful energy flowed into the spiritual power river within his body, expanding the river's volume while also significantly accelerating its flow.

The Heaven's Decree Baptism here... actually had the effect of increasing cultivation!

The Heaven's Decree Baptism from the Spirit Stream Ranking did not have such an effect. In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, Lu Ye had received the Heaven's Decree's blessings four times, which strengthened his physique and mental power, but not once did it cause his cultivation to increase in the slightest.

Here, it could!

Thinking about it carefully, it was quite normal.

Generally speaking, cultivators who could make it onto the Spirit Stream Ranking were basically at the Heaven Nine cultivation level. In the Spirit Stream Realm, this cultivation level was already the limit; further advancement meant promoting to the Cloud River Realm. Therefore, the Heaven's Decree Baptism in the Spirit Stream Battlefield did not have the effect of increasing cultivation because it was useless to the strong cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

Lu Ye was the first person in history to reach the Spirit Stream Ranking with a Heaven Seven cultivation and to occupy the top spot on the Spirit Stream Ranking with a Heaven Eight cultivation.

Being able to strengthen physique and mental power, and to increase cultivation, the Heaven's Decree Baptism received this time was vastly superior to that from the Spirit Stream Ranking.

It was foreseeable that after this time, his strength would significantly increase once more.

He just didn't know how long he could cultivate here.

Although this was a reward from Heaven's Decree, it was impossible to cultivate here indefinitely. Realizing this, Lu Ye became even more ravenous.

While the few were cultivating here, in Mount Taimang, two figures were flying desperately: Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.

As Lu Ye slew the fox demon and simultaneously dispelled the soul secret art, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng realized things were bad. They immediately fled through the air, escaping all the way to this location.

"Brother Xia, let's rest," Tan Sheng panted. Today's encounters had truly been surreal. First, they had fought a bloody battle with an overlord-level demon beast, and before they could fully recover, a pack of wolves had come to besiege them.

That the two could survive was not entirely due to luck; it was more so due to their own powerful strength. After all, they were at the ninth layer of the Cloud River Realm, and their foundations were incomparable to ordinary cultivators.

Even so, Tan Sheng was almost at his limit.

Although Xia Liang still had some strength, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer either. Seeing Tan Sheng's disheveled state, he nodded and said, "Then let's rest."

The two immediately descended, each taking spirit pills to recover.

A moment later, Tan Sheng had recovered slightly. His face filled with lingering fear, he said, "I never imagined there would be such an exotic beast in the Cloud River Battlefield."

Recalling the past month in Fox Immortal Valley, Tan Sheng felt as if he had been in a dream. When the fox demon planted the soul secret art and enslaved his mind, he didn't feel anything amiss. It was only when the soul secret art dissipated on its own with the fox demon's death that he truly awoke from his stupor.

"The world is full of wonders," Xia Liang said. "Although you and I are in the Cloud River Realm, our knowledge and experience are still too limited."

"What I can't figure out even more is how that Lu Yiye escaped," Tan Sheng said. "Considering everything that happened before, that fellow Lu Yiye was never affected by the soul secret art. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rallied the wolf pack to besiege them. Lu Yiye must have been plotting today's events for a long time; otherwise, the timing wouldn't have been so coincidental, striking right when Fox Immortal Valley's overlord-level demon beast was severely weakened from battle."

Xia Liang was actually thinking about this problem too. He voiced his suspicion, "There's only one possibility: that fellow's soul is powerful enough to resist the fox demon's soul secret art."

Tan Sheng's eyelid twitched. "He's only at the fourth layer of the Cloud River Realm," he muttered. "No matter how powerful his soul is, how powerful can it be?"

Although he said that, he also knew clearly that this was the only logical explanation. The fox demon probably never imagined that with so many cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, she would ultimately die at the hands of the person with the lowest cultivation.

"That Lu Yiye... he did many things beyond the reach of ordinary people in the Spirit Stream Battlefield; he shouldn't be underestimated," Xia Liang said. Since last time, Xia Liang had also deeply investigated Lu Ye's information, and when he saw all the intelligence about Lu Ye, he was truly astonished.

Since ancient times, no cultivator had ever stirred up such a storm in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, and single-handedly made the core sects suffer repeated setbacks.

Since ancient times, no cultivator had ever occupied the top spot on the Spirit Stream Ranking with a Heaven Eight cultivation.

Before this trip, he had already warned himself not to underestimate Lu Yiye, but now, it seemed his so-called overestimation was ultimately still an underestimation. Three ninth-layer Cloud River Realm cultivators had come together for revenge; now Wei Que was dead, and the two of them were fleeing like stray dogs.

Tan Sheng chuckled, "Do you think we've given him a life-saving favor?"

Xia Liang snorted coldly, "Brother Tan, are you perhaps planning to be grateful to him?"

Tan Sheng's expression turned cold. "How could I?" he retorted. "How could I forget that he killed my New Moon Sect disciples and destroyed my New Moon Sect's stronghold! It's just... seeking revenge is as hard as ascending to the heavens!"

What if they now knew the location of Lu Ye's spiritual land? The spiritual land was covered by formations and guarded by a wolf pack. Let alone the two of them, even if they found dozens more helpers, they might not succeed.

With their connections, they could indeed find that many helpers, even a hundred.

But even so... could they truly capture that spiritual land and slay Lu Yiye? Even if they could, the casualties would undoubtedly be heavy.

Xia Liang clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking audibly. He couldn't understand how Lu Yiye possessed the virtue or ability to command such a wolf pack!

He also remembered how, in Fox Immortal Valley, he had diligently guided Lu Ye's cultivation in saber arts every day and even taught him the secret Heart Eye art without reservation... The indignation in his heart was almost overwhelming.

That scoundrel wasn't affected by the soul secret art at all, yet he had used a false pretense to seek guidance on saber arts from him. He himself had been utterly foolish to teach whatever he knew!

"We're not the only ones from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge who want his life," Xia Liang said faintly, trying to calm his emotions.

"Brother Xia, you mean..." Tan Sheng looked thoughtful.

"Quietly spread the word about the location of Lu Yiye's spiritual land," Xia Liang began. "Someone will always go looking for trouble with him, especially those large spiritual lands... To expand their spiritual land's scale and upgrade its rank, they are plundering spring spirits everywhere. Grade-A spring spirits are quite attractive to them, and add a Lu Yiye to the mix..." He suddenly paused. "I remember there's a spiritual land nearby primarily composed of Holy Fire Sect cultivators. The Holy Fire Sect hates the Azure Blood Sect more than anyone. If those madmen learn of Lu Yiye's whereabouts, what do you think they'll do?"