Chapter 638: Outside the Trade Alliance

The aftermath of the battle in the mine continued to unfold, as a large number of cultivators entered the area, searching everywhere for any trace of Lu Ye.

Although over two thousand Wanmoling cultivators, including many powerful ones from the eighth and ninth realms, had died by his hand, they had been poisoned, which had little to do with Lu Ye's actual strength.

From Wanmoling's perspective, Lu Ye was merely a fifth-realm Cloud River cultivator. Therefore, even though the result of the mine battle was horrifying, it did not dampen their fervor and resolve to find him.

Furthermore, after enduring such a battle, Wanmoling cultivators believed that even if Lu Ye had survived, he couldn't have been unharmed. Thus, he couldn't have escaped far and was likely hiding nearby.

While the potent poison he had used certainly caused apprehension, such a deadly substance, capable of killing two thousand people, had to be incredibly precious. Lu Ye might not have any left. Even if he did, it wouldn't be a major issue; as long as they weren't in a confined environment like the mine with him, there would be no significant danger.

It can be said that after the mine battle, the Wanmoling cultivators' pursuit of Lu Ye not only did not subside but intensified significantly.

In Dong-56 Heavenly Secret City, on the second floor of a teahouse directly opposite the Heavenly Secret Alliance, a cultivator waited quietly.

A moment later, two figures quietly arrived and took the seats opposite.

The two newcomers, a man and a woman, were both strikingly attractive—the man handsome, the woman beautiful—and could be described as a perfect match. However, both bore a burning flame mark on their foreheads.

This distinctive mark was possessed only by cultivators from a single sect throughout all of Kyushu.

The Sacred Flame Sect!

"Senior Brother Chu, Senior Sister Zhou," the waiting cultivator quickly said, rising to bow.

Chu Yun nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the Heavenly Secret Alliance building opposite. "Are you sure that was Lu Yiye?" he asked.

The cultivator replied, "I didn't see his face; he was wearing a ghost mask. But his physique was indistinguishable from Lu Yiye's, and he was carrying a large bundle on his back."

Zhou Pei's gentle voice inquired, "Lu Yiye usually has a small white beast with him. Did you see it?"

"I didn't see that," the cultivator admitted. This was precisely what made him hesitate. Lu Yiye always carried a small white beast, which had almost become his distinguishing mark, but he hadn't seen one that day. Consequently, he wasn't entirely sure the person he'd seen was Lu Yiye, but to be cautious, he had still relayed the information.

The fact that both newcomers were ninth-realm Cloud River cultivators demonstrated the Sacred Flame Sect's considerable emphasis on this matter.

After all, Huo Liaoyuan had died by Lu Ye's hand, and there was an irreconcilable feud between the Sacred Flame Sect and the Azureblood Sect. If any sect within Wanmoling most desired to annihilate the Azureblood Sect, the Sacred Flame Sect would undoubtedly be number one.

Both of them had rushed here from their main sect in Kyushu. With Huo Liaoyuan killed and many disciples injured or dead, the Sacred Flame Sect was certainly going to seek revenge. Thus, upon receiving the news, they immediately came to this location, but they hadn't expected to receive such an uncertain answer.

Chu Yun gazed in the direction of the Heavenly Secret Alliance, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He slowly began, "Lu Yiye, having escaped from that mine, surely isn't unharmed. He'll definitely need a place to recuperate, and the Heavenly Secret Alliance is a good choice."

"Senior Brother, do you think that was Lu Yiye?" Zhou Pei asked.

"Almost certainly," he replied.

"But there was no sign of the white beast," she countered.

"Recently," Chu Yun explained, "the Heavenly Secret Vault acquired a secret technique that could change the landscape of beast-taming sects, and also introduced a new item called the Spirit Beast Pouch. It seems to have originated from a secret realm, and its purpose is to store spirit beasts."

This was no secret. Currently, many cultivators from beast-taming sects throughout Kyushu who had enough merit points had purchased that secret technique from the Heavenly Secret Vault. However, no cultivator had yet been able to fully master it.

Zhou Pei then realized, "Senior Brother, you think Lu Yiye has a Spirit Beast Pouch?"

"While Spirit Beast Pouches are rare and expensive, with Lu Yiye's wealth, he could afford one," Chu Yun explained. "As for that large bundle... Junior Sister, don't forget, two thousand cultivators died in the mine, and before Lu Yiye left, he confiscated all their storage bags."

"So that bundle must contain storage bags!" Zhou Pei exclaimed.

When Lu Ye entered the Heavenly Secret Alliance that day, he indeed attracted considerable attention. After all, cultivators typically carried storage bags, and few walked around carrying numerous bags, let alone a huge bundle.

Thus, even though he only stayed on the first floor of the Heavenly Secret Alliance for a short time, he still drew considerable attention.

Initially, no one thought much of it, but as time passed, some people gradually pieced things together.

Now, not only Chu Yun and his companions were secretly watching the Heavenly Secret Alliance; even on the second floor of this very teahouse, several pairs of eyes were quietly observing the area.

It wasn't that Lu Ye hadn't considered he might be exposed because of that large bundle, but at the time, there was simply no other option, unless he was willing to abandon his spoils of war.

If it were one or two hundred storage bags, he might have given them up, but with thousands, Lu Ye simply couldn't bring himself to abandon them.

"It's almost certain that was Lu Yiye," Chu Yun concluded.

"Fighting is not allowed inside the Heavenly Secret Alliance," Zhou Pei pointed out. "He's hiding in there, so there's nothing we can do to him."

"He'll come out eventually," Chu Yun replied. As he spoke, he looked around and happened to see a familiar face looking their way. Their eyes met, and they both nodded in acknowledgement, everything understood without words.

Currently, while a large number of Wanmoling cultivators were searching everywhere for Lu Ye's whereabouts, a smaller group, having received some vague information, had gathered in Dong-56 Heavenly Secret City. They had spread out to secretly monitor the exits of the Heavenly Secret Alliance.

Consequently, cultivators permanently residing in the city subtly noticed something unusual: in recent days, the number of powerful cultivators in the city seemed to have increased significantly.

Inside a guest room at the Heavenly Secret Alliance, Lu Ye and Yi Yi worked together, one unlocking the storage bags, and the other organizing their contents.

With over five thousand storage bags, even with Lu Ye's current high efficiency in unlocking them, it would still take him at least seven or eight days to finish.

This left the Wanmoling powerhouses secretly observing and waiting outside feeling quite helpless.

No one had personally seen whether Lu Ye had actually entered the Heavenly Secret Alliance; it was merely suspected. They had sent people inside the Alliance to search, but found nothing significant.

As days passed with still no sign of Lu Ye, this began to raise doubts among many.

Could it be that Lu Yiye hadn't come here at all?

If he hadn't come, continuing to wait here would just be a waste of time. And even if he had, who knew when he would emerge?

While the accommodation fees at the Heavenly Secret Alliance were indeed not low, this was Lu Yiye, the notorious spendthrift. He could summon a Heavenly Secret Pillar on a whim, and had done so twice; for him, mere accommodation fees were but a drop in the ocean.

If he were to stay in the Heavenly Secret Alliance for half a year or even a full year, would they really have to wait that long?

For a time, many became agitated, yet there was nothing they could do.

In the guest room, Lu Ye was still meticulously unlocking the storage bags with considerable effort. The pile of storage bags before him had finally decreased by nearly half.

However, he hadn't found any exceptionally good items. Most cultivators' storage bags contained spiritual pills, spirit stones, spiritual artifacts, and talismans. More often, they held various miscellaneous materials, such as mined ores or spiritual flowers and herbs.

Although the items were diverse, when gathered together, they amounted to a considerable fortune.

Lu Ye had few spiritual pills remaining, but now his supply was replenished.

It's worth mentioning that he confiscated many monster cores, which were Amber's food. Since eating monster cores, Amber had lost interest in spiritual pills, as consuming monster cores promoted its growth more quickly.

For Lu Ye, the only good news was that even while continuously unlocking the bags, it didn't hinder his own cultivation.

His Gluttonous Feast continued to operate, and he occasionally popped a few spiritual pills into his mouth. Although the spiritual energy in the guest room wasn't as dense as in a spiritual land, its impact on his cultivation wasn't too significant.

He had recently contacted his Fourth Senior Brother and learned that everything was stable back at Revival Valley. Ju Jia had already brought the wolf pack back, and no Wanmoling cultivators dared to disturb them; all of them were cultivating peacefully there.

This put Lu Ye considerably at ease.

Although he had left a warning when he departed from Revival Valley, it remained uncertain whether it could truly deter the Wanmoling cultivators. Especially after the mine battle, there was a risk that some hot-headed individuals, blinded by rage, might go to the spiritual land to cause trouble.

But as it turned out, his words had been quite deterrent; as long as he was alive, Wanmoling cultivators would certainly not dare to make a move on Revival Valley's spiritual land.

As for what he said when he killed Song Zhui, about returning to the Spirit Stream Battlefield to destroy the Abyss Rainbow Hall's outpost... that was just something he said on a whim, and he naturally wouldn't actually do it.

Primarily, Song Zhui's unyielding appearance at the time was irritating to behold. It was clearly Wanmoling constantly causing trouble, and Lu Ye had never actively sought trouble, only wishing to cultivate peacefully in the spiritual land. Yet, in the end, he was made to look like some evil villain.

He said those words just to scare Song Zhui before he died...

Those words were quite effective; the unyielding Song Zhui died with lingering regret because of him. This was probably what they called killing the body and tormenting the soul.

"Lu Ye! Lu Ye!" Yi Yi suddenly exclaimed, interrupting the jumbled thoughts in Lu Ye's mind.

He looked up and saw Yi Yi holding something, asking a little surprised, "Look what this is?"

Lu Ye's gaze focused, and his expression froze.

The storage bag he was currently unlocking in his hand suddenly made a sound, then completely shattered, turning into fragments on the floor.

He had been momentarily careless, not controlling his strength properly, and triggered the restriction within the lock.

The storage bag shattered, and its contents turned to dust. Lu Ye didn't care; it was just one storage bag.

He excitedly took the item from Yi Yi's hand. "Where did you find this?" he asked.