Chapter 612: Is this possible?

In the Rejuvenation Spirit Land, the phantom of the Deathmatch Arena appeared. Under everyone's gaze, a figure emerged. To the utter horror of the cultivators from the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land, the one who returned was not their longed-for Senior Brother Huo, but Lu Ye!

No, Huo Liaoyuan had returned as well.

However, at this moment, he was like a dead dog, dangling from Lu Ye's hand. A massive hole in his chest was clearly visible, blood trickling out with a dripping sound. There was no trace of life left in his body; he was clearly just a corpse.

The cultivators from the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land felt their scalps tingle, and a wave of chilling dread swept over them.

Senior Brother Huo... was killed?

How could Senior Brother Huo, a ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator, be killed?

Although they didn't want to believe their eyes, the truth was laid bare before them, leaving them no choice but to accept it.

On Li Baxian's side, after Lu Ye appeared, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Just moments ago, he had felt that his junior brother might not lose, but that was merely a hope, a prayer. Only when Lu Ye appeared before him, perfectly unharmed, did Li Baxian truly relax.

However, immediately afterward, he became puzzled.

In his imagination, Lu Ye should have awakened the sleeping Amber and fought Huo Liaoyuan with her help.

But looking now, Amber was still nowhere to be seen, clearly still sleeping in her spirit beast bag.

This meant his junior brother had killed Huo Liaoyuan using his own strength?

Killing an opponent four levels higher? Even with the fact before him, Li Baxian was startled. Looking back through history, such a feat had never occurred before.

So-called cross-level killing usually only involved one or two minor levels; surpassing three minor levels was extremely rare, let alone four.

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Lu Ye suddenly raised his hand and flung the corpse away.

Several disciples from the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land frantically caught it.

"Retreat!" A terrified voice rang out. The cultivators of the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land woke as if from a dream and hastily fell back. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were mixed in with the crowd, and even after they had exited the spirit land's covered area, their expressions still clearly showed their shock.

The wolf pack did not pursue, as there was no point.

After the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land cultivators had retreated from Rejuvenation Valley, Lu Ye activated the power of the concealing formation. Ripples swept across, and the entire spirit land was hidden by the formation.

He couldn't help but stumble, and blood welled up at the corner of his mouth.

"Junior Brother!" Li Baxian rushed forward to support him, while Feng Yuechan quickly took out a healing pill and put it into Lu Ye's mouth.

Swallowing the spirit pill, Lu Ye waved his hand, "It's nothing serious. I need to rest. They shouldn't dare to make any hasty moves for a while. As for the spirit land... Senior Brother and Senior Sister Feng, please keep a close eye on it."

Li Baxian nodded, "Don't worry. I'll inform you immediately if anything happens."

Lu Ye turned and walked into his wooden hut, sat down cross-legged, quietly circulated his Profound Art, and began meditating to recover.

His injuries from the battle with Huo Liaoyuan were not severe, but not light either, primarily internal. Fortunately, his physique was strong enough, so recovery should not be difficult.

Watching Lu Ye enter the hut, Li Baxian's expression became inexplicably complex.

Feng Yuechan sensed it and asked, "What are you thinking, Senior Brother?"

Li Baxian smiled faintly, "I'm thinking about the first time I met Junior Brother..."

At that time, Junior Brother was trapped on Golden Radiance Peak. Wei Yang was the first to arrive, and then he rushed there too. Together, they fiercely protected him. Although they had never met before, simply because of his identity as a disciple of the Azure Blood Sect, they already regarded Lu Ye as family.

That battle also marked Lu Ye's rise to fame. Since then, Lu Ye of the Azure Blood Sect became unstoppable, forging a formidable reputation on the Spirit Creek battlefield.

Thinking back, it had only been two or three years.

The junior brother who needed the protection of his senior siblings' wings had actually grown to such a height.

Li Baxian couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of his own child having grown up.

At the entrance of Rejuvenation Valley, the cultivators of the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land wore sorrowful expressions, and the atmosphere was oppressive. Even now, they had not recovered from the devastating news of Huo Liaoyuan's death.

The path of cultivation is full of hardships, and life and death are common. These individuals were not unfamiliar with partings and deaths; on the contrary, each of them had experienced quite a lot.

If Huo Liaoyuan had been killed by another ninth-level cultivator, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Among cultivators of the same level, there were still differences in strength; being killed would simply mean one's cultivation was insufficient or skills inferior.

But Huo Liaoyuan had died at Lu Ye's hands!

Even now, they couldn't understand how the powerful Senior Brother Huo had been killed by Lu Ye. What exactly happened in the Deathmatch Arena?

But they had no way of knowing the hidden truth, as only Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan were inside the Deathmatch Arena. Only they could know the beginning and end of that battle.

Among the cultivators who came from the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land this time, although Huo Liaoyuan was the only ninth-level cultivator, there were several at the eighth level.

One of them was Ming Zhe. Although he hailed from the All-Cosmos Sect, he often sparred with Huo Liaoyuan due to their compatible temperaments, and Huo Liaoyuan never refused, so their relationship was very good.

At this moment, suppressing his grief, he was examining Huo Liaoyuan's corpse. Although Huo Liaoyuan was dead, many marks on the body might offer clues, allowing him to infer something about the battle.

The fatal injury was in the chest; Huo Liaoyuan's heart had been directly crushed. There were also many other wounds on his body, but none were from sharp weapons. They looked like bruises from massive impacts.

After a long examination, no useful clues were found. Judging only from the injuries, Huo Liaoyuan seemed to have fought a life-or-death battle with Lu Ye, ultimately being defeated and killed.

But... was that even possible?

With a four-level cultivation gap, what right did Lu Ye have to fight such a fierce battle with Huo Liaoyuan?

Just as he was utterly bewildered, his battlefield imprint suddenly stirred. He quickly checked it and found a message from Tu Guanxiong, a simple query: "What happened?"

He had clearly learned of Huo Liaoyuan's death!

Ming Zhe, suppressing his sorrow, recounted everything that had happened over the past two days. When he heard that their side had directly lost over sixty people in the initial battle, Tu Guanxiong remained silent for a long time.

When Huo Liaoyuan led his group out of the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land, Tu Guanxiong had made him take as many people as possible. A full seventy percent of the entire spirit land's forces were drawn out, plus the disciples of the Sacred Fire Sect that Huo Liaoyuan had gathered. A lineup of over one hundred and fifty people had actually lost more than sixty in one go.

This was truly unbelievable.

Then, upon hearing that Huo Liaoyuan had used the Deathmatch Arena today, drawing Lu Ye into its space, yet Lu Ye was the one who emerged alive, while Huo Liaoyuan became a corpse...

"Do you know how Brother Huo was killed?"

"A single strike through the heart. Nothing else is known."

Tu Guanxiong was silent for a moment. "It seems Lu Ye has some powerful exotic treasure!"

Only this possibility could explain why Huo Liaoyuan met such a tragic end at Lu Ye's hands. He didn't believe that with such a massive cultivation gap, Lu Ye could have killed Huo Liaoyuan with his true abilities.

"Senior Brother Tu, what do we do now?" Ming Zhe was at a loss for ideas, his mind a complete jumble.

A direct assault was unrealistic. The opponent possessed a wolf pack, and if they dared to step into the range covered by the anti-flight formation, they would surely be trapped without a way out.

But asking them to retreat just like that was also unacceptable. So many people had already died; if they didn't avenge them, how could they face returning to the spirit land?

Continuing to wait here for reinforcements was an option. Tu Guanxiong had already summoned more All-Cosmos Sect disciples to rush to their location, but it would take time, and even if they arrived, it might not make a difference.

Their side had suffered too many casualties, losing nearly half their manpower, and the number of cultivators Tu Guanxiong could summon was also limited.

"Where are Xia Liang of the Berserk Blade Sect and Tan Sheng of the New Moon Sect?" Tu Guanxiong asked.

When recounting the events of the past two days, Ming Zhe had briefly mentioned Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.

"They're still here," Ming Zhe replied. "It seems they're unwilling to leave just yet. Perhaps we can borrow their strength?"

"Absolutely not!" Tu Guanxiong immediately refused. "One of them is from a First-Grade Sect and the other from a Third-Grade Sect. Neither is someone we can afford to provoke right now. If we dare to borrow their strength, we will surely be exploited. When they kill Lu Ye, all the benefits will be theirs."

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Huo mentioned to me earlier that the intelligence about Lu Ye likely came from those two."

"Are you sure?"

"Senior Brother Huo was practically certain of it."

"Indeed, just as Brother Huo previously expected. Those two probably suffered losses before and knew they couldn't take down Lu Ye with their own strength, which is why they sought to borrow ours. How hateful... to have caused such immense losses to my Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land." Tu Guanxiong was indignant.

The Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land was originally peaceful, but then they suddenly received news about Lu Ye, and things spiraled out of control, leading to the current situation.

"Then, Senior Brother, what exactly should we do now?" Ming Zhe asked again.

Tu Guanxiong remained silent for a long time. After a full incense stick's worth of time, he finally sent a message: "I will spread the news about Lu Ye. Many people will surely go to kill him then. You act as the situation dictates."

With the current strength of the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land alone, they couldn't avenge Huo Liaoyuan and their deceased senior and junior brothers. Tu Guanxiong was furious at Xia Liang and Tan Sheng's schemes and would certainly not use their power, and even if he did, it might not succeed.

The Rejuvenation Spirit Land was covered by an anti-flight formation. Once cultivators entered, they would first face the wolf pack. Two ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivators would have limited impact in such a situation.

Since that was the case, they would spread the news!

Currently, on the Myriad Demon Ridge side, countless cultivators wished to find Lu Ye's whereabouts. Once this news spread, countless cultivators would surely flock there, making it impossible for Lu Ye to survive!

Although this meant the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land couldn't claim the bounty on Lu Ye's head entirely for themselves, this was the only method Tu Guanxiong could think of. No matter who killed Lu Ye then, it would count as vengeance for Huo Liaoyuan and the tragically deceased cultivators of the Saintly Cosmos Spirit Land.