Chapter 62: Rift Sky Gorge

Half a month later, Lu Ye, covered in dust from his journey, appeared before a canyon. Compared to his previous discomfort riding the large tiger, he was undoubtedly much more at ease now.

On the first day of riding the large tiger, he was jostled so much that he felt as if his body was falling apart, and the insides of his thighs were chafed raw. In that state, cultivation was impossible.

By now, he had achieved his initial goal: cultivating by taking pills while traveling on the tiger. Although less efficient than cultivating in a normal state, it was far better than wasting time.

Over the past half-month, he had opened three more spirit apertures. He was now a cultivator with twenty-five open apertures, just two short of reaching the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm!

At this rate, in another six or seven days, he would be able to cultivate the Golden Cicada Roaming Art to its perfected state.

Not only had his own strength grown, but the large tiger had also noticeably become stronger.

The snake meat in his storage bag had been completely consumed by him and the tiger, with eighty percent of it going into the tiger's belly. The snake meat was incredibly beneficial for a demonic beast like the tiger, not to mention Lu Ye also gave it two Spirit Nourishing Pills every day.

In just half a month, the tiger seemed to have grown a full size larger, becoming even more majestic.

Lu Ye couldn't precisely gauge the tiger's current strength, but he estimated that even if he were to fight the tiger without the aid of spirit talismans or spirit patterns, he wouldn't gain any significant advantage.

Furthermore, Yi Yi was the tiger's spirit companion; as the tiger grew stronger, so did she.

Therefore, while the average individual strength of the group—one person, one tiger, and one spirit—was not exceptionally high, the combined power they could unleash when working together was not to be underestimated.

This increased Lu Ye's capital for navigating the Spirit Stream Battlefield, and he increasingly felt that bringing the large tiger and Yi Yi along had been a wise decision.

Along the way, Lu Ye passed through another neutral market town. He rested there for a night, sold two pieces of primordial magnet ore, and acquired some spirit stones.

He now had over two hundred spirit stones in his possession.

He was still a little short, but it should be enough by the time he reached the next branch of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance.

Jumping off the tiger's back, Lu Ye surveyed the canyon ahead and took out a detailed map for reference.

This place was called Sky-Rending Canyon. The terrain was treacherous, with sheer cliffs rising on both sides. According to the map, the Nine Stars Sect, affiliated with the Myriad Devil Ridge, was situated to the left of Sky-Rending Canyon, while the Xuan Gate, affiliated with the Vast Heaven Alliance, was on the right.

Sky-Rending Canyon was located in the middle ground between these two strongholds, leaning slightly closer to the Nine Stars Sect.

The ranks of both sects were not high: Xuan Gate was Rank Nine, and Nine Stars Sect was Rank Eight. Such ranks were common in the outer perimeter of the battlefield. Moreover, Lu Ye's planned route was an arc, almost hugging the edge of the battlefield. Therefore, although he had passed through the territories of several sects along the way, they were all of Rank Eight or Nine.

He would not rashly enter the strongholds of higher-ranked sects, even if they belonged to the Vast Heaven Alliance. The Sect Master's final admonitions before entering the Spirit Stream Battlefield still echoed in his ears. He dared not casually reveal his identity as a disciple of the Blood Sect, though he didn't know what the consequences of doing so might be.

As dusk approached, Lu Ye decided not to enter the canyon immediately. After a full day of travel, resting for the night and continuing tomorrow would not be too late.

"Yi Yi!" Lu Ye called out.

"Got it," Yi Yi's voice replied. Immediately, she floated up from the large tiger's head and drifted into the distance.

She was going to scout the surrounding area.

After spending these days together, they had developed a tacit understanding. Before resting, Yi Yi would always scout the surroundings to avoid any hidden dangers.

As a spirit body, she was traceless and unseen, making this task very convenient. Several times, it was thanks to her that they managed to avoid potential crises.

However, she had a symbiotic relationship with the large tiger and couldn't stray too far from it. According to Yi Yi, a distance of ten *li* was fine, but if she went beyond that, she would quickly weaken. If this state persisted for too long, she could very well dissipate.

Lu Ye then began searching for a suitable place to camp for the night nearby.

Having wandered outside for over half a month, he was already adept at this. A suitable camping spot needed to first allow for easy advance and retreat, second, be sufficiently hidden, and third, offer shelter from wind and rain.

After searching for a while, Lu Ye led the large tiger to an area of scattered rocks. While the spot wasn't ideal, there was no better alternative nearby. Judging by the sky, it didn't look like rain was coming, so making do for a night would be fine.

Lu Ye took out pre-prepared firewood from his storage bag and lit it. He then placed a large piece of beast meat over the fire to roast, and threw an even larger piece to the large tiger, which immediately pounced on it and began to devour it.

Watching the large tiger's ferocious eating, Lu Ye felt a pang of worry. He had thought that the Spirit Nourishing Pills he had saved would be more than enough to last him until the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm, but now it seemed they would barely suffice.

The large tiger consumed two Spirit Nourishing Pills daily, and opening one aperture required about eleven or twelve pills for him. He now had only just over thirty Spirit Nourishing Pills left.

By the time he opened all twenty-seven apertures, these Spirit Nourishing Pills would likely be depleted.

Furthermore, he had a subtle feeling that as the large tiger's strength increased, its consumption of Spirit Nourishing Pills would also rise.

What a worry! However, this was the price of traveling with the large tiger and Yi Yi. At the very least, he could still cultivate while on the move, saving a significant amount of time.

For a low-level cultivator like him, early cultivation time was precious.

As the beast meat dripped fat and sizzled over the campfire, the large tiger, currently gnawing on raw meat, suddenly raised its head and looked in one direction, emitting a low growl from its throat.

Immediately, it bolted and charged in that direction.

Lu Ye was stunned for a moment, then realized: something had happened to Yi Yi!

Yi Yi was a spirit companion transformed by the large tiger, and they shared an extremely close bond. Therefore, the tiger could sense any mishap Yi Yi encountered.

The tiger was incredibly fast. Even with Lu Ye channeling spiritual energy into his legs, he could only trail behind, eating dust. In his urgency, he could only shout, "Amber, don't be reckless!"

He still didn't know what had happened to Yi Yi, and rushing in blindly was not a good strategy.

The large tiger, surprisingly understanding, slowed down slightly. After Lu Ye caught up and climbed onto its back, the tiger accelerated again.

A moment later, a flickering firelight came into view from behind a large rock.

Several cultivators were gathered there, having lit a campfire, seemingly preparing to camp for the night. In front of them, an overturned, bell-shaped object was visible. Spiritual light flowed over the large bell, and complex, profound patterns converged to form a slowly rotating design around it.

Faint banging sounds emanated from inside the large bell.

Yi Yi was trapped inside!

Seeing this, Lu Ye immediately understood. Yi Yi was a spirit body, so ordinary methods couldn't possibly trap her. That large bell was clearly a spirit artifact!

Fortunately, after Lu Ye's recent warning, the large tiger managed to curb its animalistic impulse and didn't immediately charge forward.

Lu Ye channeled spiritual energy into his eyes to discern the spiritual aura of the cultivators.

There were four cultivators: one at the second level of the Spirit Stream Realm, two at the third level, and one at the fourth level!