Chapter 596: Cloud River Level Five Realm

Over thirty years ago, the Sacred Flame Sect was a first-rank sect with a formidable reputation. Today, however, it has fallen to fourth-rank. This decline is primarily due to the complete eradication of their Divine Sea Realm cultivators, an act instigated by the Crimson Blood Sect.

In a major battle between the two factions back then, three first-rank sects from the Myriad Demon Ridge were forcibly dethroned. These included the Golden Cloud Tower and the Hundred Refining Valley, in addition to the Sacred Flame Sect.

These three sects hold the strongest resentment towards the Crimson Blood Sect. Wei Yang had mentioned them to Lu Ye when they first met.

Tan Sheng's eyes lit up. "Drive wolves to devour tigers, and we'll reap the benefits! Brother Xia, what an excellent plan!"

Their current strength was no longer enough to threaten Lu Ye. However, it was unrealistic for them to widely invite allies for revenge. Such a move would undoubtedly lead to heavy casualties, considering the many demon wolves in Lu Ye's spirit land.

But if the Sacred Flame Sect learned about the situation at Lu Ye's spirit land, they would undoubtedly take action. At that point, the two could hide in the shadows, observe the situation, and wait for an opportune moment to strike. At the very least, they could get a share of the spoils.

As for how to discreetly relay the information to the Sacred Flame Sect, it was certainly not beyond their capabilities.

After a brief rest, the two mounted their artifacts again and flew towards the outskirts of Mount Taimang. They began transmitting messages along the way.

Time passed. In the Heavenly Secret Baptismal Ground, Lu Ye and the others practiced in separate areas.

Lu Ye had initially thought they wouldn't be able to stay in this place for too long. To his surprise, it wasn't until three days later that a strong repulsive force suddenly emanated from all directions, prompting him to quickly stand up.

Before Lu Ye could react, his vision blurred, and he suddenly appeared on the altar, stumbling slightly before quickly regaining his balance.

Looking up, Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, Ju Jia, Amber, and Yi Yi had all been repelled, their spiritual power surging.

Judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations from each of them, their cultivation levels had clearly advanced.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, originally at the fifth level of the Cloud River Realm, had now reached the sixth. This was barely over a month since their last breakthrough and promotion.

The aura from Yi Yi and Amber had also impressively reached a level comparable to the fourth level.

Lu Ye and Ju Jia had both reached the fifth level!

Lu Ye had broken through a day earlier. His cultivation speed in the baptismal ground was surprisingly even higher than the efficiency of using a golden spiritual token. It would have been truly unbelievable had he not experienced it firsthand.

"Little Junior Brother, did you feel it?" Li Baxian gently clenched his fist, then opened it, then clenched it again, as if savoring his increased strength.

Lu Ye nodded.

Over these three days, his experience was the most profound. He didn't need to immerse himself in cultivation; the small spirit gathering funnel continuously functioned, allowing him to effortlessly absorb the white mist with much greater efficiency than anyone else.

Li Baxian and the others were different; they had been fully immersed in their cultivation and only now truly felt the changes within themselves.

This improvement wasn't merely an increase in cultivation level; it also involved the strengthening of their physiques and minds. Additionally, the flow rate of the spiritual energy river within their bodies had accelerated by at least thirty percent compared to before.

This was clearly a benefit of the Heavenly Secret Baptism.

An increase in cultivation means stronger power. The strengthening of their physiques and minds, coupled with the increased flow rate of their spiritual energy, further contributed to a significant surge in overall strength.

It's safe to say that this cultivation session was far more than just a simple increase in cultivation level for everyone.

Compared to three days prior, the change in their strength was profound.

However, true strength cannot be fully demonstrated without experiencing life-and-death combat. Thus, Lu Ye was still uncertain of his current power level.

Li Baxian still wore a look of disbelief. After a long pause, he sighed, "As the ancients said, 'when one attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.' This time, it's all thanks to Little Junior Brother for slaying that fox demon."

Had Lu Ye not slain the fox demon and received the Heavenly Secret's reward, they wouldn't have had this opportunity. As for the thousands of mid-grade spirit stones spent to activate the altar earlier, they paled in comparison to the benefits gained. Not just thousands, even tens of thousands of spirit stones couldn't have bought this.

"Senior Brother, why are you calling us chickens and dogs? I am not one!" Feng Yuechan pouted, clearly displeased.

Li Baxian laughed heartily. "That's just what I meant!"

Feng Yuechan smiled sweetly and turned to Lu Ye. "But seriously, we truly have to thank Junior Brother Lu this time. With this opportunity, our future cultivation path will definitely be easier and broader."

This was well said. Although the Cloud River Realm is not the foundational realm for cultivators, their cultivation levels within it were not particularly high. The benefits gained this time could arguably be said to have laid a more solid foundation, which would be greatly beneficial for their future cultivation and growth.

"We're family, Senior Sister," Lu Ye said with a gentle smile. "There's no need for such formalities."

Feng Yuechan clearly misunderstood, glancing at Li Baxian as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

"This altar..." Li Baxian turned to look at the altar. He had considered returning to cultivate there after his cultivation stabilized in a few days. However, seeing it shattered, he swallowed the words he was about to say.

Lu Ye also noticed the altar's condition and mused, "It seems the Heavenly Secret's reward is a one-time benefit."

Besides, even if the altar hadn't been damaged, without the golden seal of the Heavenly Secret's reward, it couldn't have been reactivated anyway.

The presence of such an altar deep within Fox Immortal Valley now seemed like a pre-arranged reward from the Heavenly Secret.

"Let's return to the spirit land," Li Baxian said.

With the altar destroyed, there was no longer any reason to remain in Fox Immortal Valley.

Moments later, several streaks of light shot into the sky, soaring directly towards the spirit land. Below, a vast wolf pack raced along, following closely behind.

"Little Junior Brother, is something on your mind?" Li Baxian asked, moving closer.

"Tan Sheng and Xia Liang are still alive, and our spirit land's location has been exposed," Lu Ye replied. "They will definitely return."

Li Baxian's expression also grew somber. It was regrettable they hadn't managed to kill Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. When Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia led the wolf pack to assist, they had instructed the wolves to only surround and not kill anyone except Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. This was because they couldn't ascertain the allegiance of the other individuals, and a full-scale battle would have led to heavy losses for the wolf pack.

Despite these orders, the wolf pack, unlike cultivators, lacked high intelligence. At the time, Feng Yuechan was occupied containing Li Baxian, and Ju Jia had been enslaved by the fox demon's soul secret technique. Amidst the chaos, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang ultimately survived.

After all, these two were ninth-level cultivators, and not easily killed.

Last time, they were completely unaware of the wolf pack's presence, which led to significant losses. Not only were both of them severely wounded, but Wei Que was also killed.

Now, knowing the strength within the spirit land, they would certainly come fully prepared if they were to return.

"It might not be that bad," Li Baxian said, shaking his head.

"How so?"

Li Baxian explained, "Since they know the strength of our spirit land, they must also understand that bringing too few people would be pointless. But even if they brought enough numbers, a battle would inevitably result in heavy casualties, which is unacceptable to them. To completely overwhelm our spirit land, they'd need at least a hundred people."

"What if they really bring a hundred people?"

Li Baxian's brow furrowed slightly. "Surely not..."

"Mere mutual enmity might not drive them to such extremes. But Senior Brother, don't forget that I also have an extremely large bounty on my head. Wealth has always tempted people. Even if they simply leak the spirit land's location, we'll face constant trouble."

"Little Junior Brother, are you suggesting..."

Lu Ye pondered silently. He had thought that establishing their spirit land deep within Mount Taimang, guarded by a wolf pack, would ensure peace of mind. He hadn't expected to encounter constant trouble so soon.

He recalled the last C-grade spirit land he acquired; he hadn't occupied it for long either. After he entered the Myriad Beast Domain secret realm, his home was raided.

He was, after all, favored by the Heavenly Secret and had flourishing luck. Why did he seem to have no affinity for spirit lands?

"Two paths: transfer the spirit land, or prepare an escape route."

"Transferring the spirit land..." Li Baxian shook his head. "The spirit land has the Heavenly Secret Pillar that Little Junior Brother summoned. If we transfer it, one hundred thousand merit points would be wasted. Furthermore, transferring a spirit land will cause the Spring Spirit's grade to drop..."

Lu Ye was utterly surprised. "Transferring a spirit land makes the Spring Spirit's grade drop?" He genuinely hadn't known this.

Li Baxian nodded. "Although there's a way to retrieve the Spring Spirit, each time it's retrieved, its grade drops by one level."

"So, if we transfer the spirit land, we'll only get a B-grade spirit land?"

And we'd also lose a Heavenly Secret Pillar.

This implies that when the C-grade spirit land's Spring Spirit was stolen, the thieves only obtained a D-grade Spring Spirit. What a waste.

"Precisely. So, unless it's absolutely unavoidable, it's best not to transfer the spirit land."

Lu Ye nodded. "Then we can only prepare more escape routes. After we return, I'll set up a few more teleportation arrays, just in case."

With teleportation arrays in place, the group's safety would be somewhat guaranteed, even if the spirit land were breached.

In the hunting ground, with his Cloud River third-level cultivation, Lu Ye's teleportation arrays could cover a range of two hundred li. Now that his cultivation had reached the fifth level and his foundation had greatly increased, the range he could cover would undoubtedly be wider.

Regardless of what Tan Sheng and Xia Liang planned to do, it was always wise for them to be prepared first.

After further discussion with Li Baxian, Lu Ye's plan slowly solidified.

They sped along, and by evening, Return Heaven Valley was finally in sight. They had been away for several days, leaving the spirit land unguarded. Fortunately, the formations Lu Ye had previously set up were still functioning perfectly, and from a distance, there were no signs of the spirit land having been attacked.